Opportunity
Poor perinatal mental health has long been recognised as a major public health issue, with consequences that are both extensive and enduring – for women, for children, and the broader community. Despite national initiatives like the National Action Plan for Perinatal Mental Health, the National Depression Initiative, and updated clinical guidelines, there remains a critical gap in understanding whether these efforts have truly improved care for women at risk.
This project between DHCRC, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), and the Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) addresses this gap by delivering a ground-breaking data-linkage asset, which will allow researchers to efficiently harness the power of large-scale, routinely collected data to address a critical evidence gap. The project will leverage new, large-scale data on mental health risk, encompassing both strengths and vulnerabilities, and link this for the first time with population-wide data on healthcare use.
With this breakthrough data-linkage, this dataset will enable researchers to assess whether women at risk are receiving appropriate care, uncover patterns and examine sources of variation in mental health care for women during the perinatal period. By uncovering unwarranted variation in clinical practice and care, this project will help dismantle barriers to equitable health care, ensuring that all Australian women have access to the care they need during the perinatal period.
Project Objectives
- Establish a long-term perinatal mental health data linkage asset
- Identify care pathways for women with perinatal mental health risk
- Examine variations in care and outcomes helping to ensure equitable access to mental health support for all women, regardless of background
- Strengthen the sector’s ability to use linked data for mental health research, while promoting ethical, secure, and efficient data practices.
