Maternal Mental Health Workshops in Urban Ugandan Communities: An Analysis of Attendance Rates and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Reduction Levels,

Recent studies have highlighted the high prevalence of postpartum depression (PPD) among women in urban Ugandan communities, underscoring the need for effective interventions. Data from multiple studies conducted between and were systematically reviewed, with a focus on collecting standardised measures of workshop attendance and PPD severity. A total of 854 participants were included in the meta-analysis. The average attendance rate was found to be 72%, with a significant reduction in postpartum depressive symptoms observed among those who attended workshops compared to non-attendees (p < 0.01, 95% CI [−0.63, -0.28]). Maternal mental health workshops appear effective in reducing PPD symptoms when participants are engaged and attend the sessions. Future research could explore longer-term impacts of these interventions and potential cost-effectiveness analyses to inform public health policy. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p_i)=\beta_0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.