Maryam Khani
1 
, Hamid Salehiniya
2 , Mohammad Reza Miri
3 , Ensiyeh Norozi
4* 1 Student Research Committee, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
3 Department of Health Education and Promotion, School of Health, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
4 Department of Public Health, School of Health, Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Abstract
Background and Aims: Reducing the burden of mental health disorders can be achieved by increasing mental health literacy. The purpose of the current study was to investigate mental health literacy regarding postpartum depression among pregnant women in eastern Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 277 pregnant women who were referred to the health centers of Sarayan city (eastern Iran) in 2022. A standard health literacy questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS version 19 using independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and regression analysis. The significance level was less than 0.05. Results: The mean age of participants was 20.28±1.5 years. 96% had a diploma or sub-diploma education and 59.6% had an average income of less than 5 million Tomans per month. The average total health benefit score regarding postpartum depression was 110.96±20.28 (score range: 31-155). The highest score was related to the field of attitude towards postpartum depression (3.73 ± 0.91) and the lowest was related to the field of awareness of health services (3.09 ± 1.36). The regression analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between income (B=0.4) and education (B=0.3) with mental health literacy (p<0.0001). Conclusion: The findings showed that the pregnant women participating in the research had an average level of mental health literacy. Since low health literacy prevents the correct understanding of health messages, it is recommended to increase mental health literacy and empower pregnant mothers, especially mothers with lower income and lower educational level, through education.