Battling depression: A journey towards empowering fathers in their parenting role in Pakistan

• Published in: Journal of psychosomatic research Vol. 157; p. 110868
• Main Authors: Ishrat Husain, M., Kiran, T., Khoso, A., Wai Wan, M., Zadeh, Z., Sattar, R., Bassett, P., Naeem, S., Bashir Chaudhry, I., Memon, R., Jafri, F., Husain, N., Chaudhry, N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Inc 01.06.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Anxiety; Anxiety disorders; Child development; Children; Clinical trials; Cognitive ability; Cognitive development; Community health workers; Fathers; Generalized anxiety disorder; Intervention; Life stress; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Parental stress; Parenthood education; Parents & parenting; Paternal depression; Psychopathology; Quality of life; Social anxiety; Social development; Social interactions; Social support; Pakistan
• ISSN: 0022-3999; 1879-1360
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2022.110868

Objectives Paternal depression is an under-researched area. It leads to poor child outcomes in social, academic, and cognitive development including increased risk of psychopathology in later life. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally adapted integrated parenting intervention "Learning Through Play Plus (LTP+)" for depressed Pakistani fathers of children <3 years of age, delivered by the Community Health Workers. Methods A total of 357 depressed fathers were recruited from two low resource community settings in Karachi, Pakistan into a two arm, parallel design randomized controlled trial comparing LTP+ Dads (n = 171) to treatment as usual (TAU, n = 186). Twelve sessions of LTP+ Dads were offered over four months in a group setting. Assessments were carried out at baseline, 4 and 6-month follow-up using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Oslo social support scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale, Results Participants in the LTP+ arm showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms compared to those in the TAU arm at month-4 (Mean Difference − 5.28, 95% CI -3.52 to −7.04, p = 0.000) and effect was sustained at 6-month follow-up (MD -2.18, 95% CI -0.72 to −3.64, p = 0.004). There was significant improvement in LTP+ arm on anxiety, social support, quality of life, parenting stress, knowledge and positive attitudes about child development at 4-month FU compared to TAU arm. Conclusions A low cost culturally adapted group intervention was effective in reducing depression in depressed fathers of young children in Pakistan.