The MAP Study
Methods of Assessing Perinatal Anxiety (MAP) is a study that aimed to understand the best questionnaire in assessing women with perinatal anxiety during pregnancy and after birth. The questionnaire should be:
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Acceptable to women.
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Effective at identifying women who require and do not require treatment.
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Acceptable, practical, and easy to use within the NHS and other UK health services.
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This was addressed by comparing four different anxiety tools in NHS services in England and Scotland through four connected projects. These projects are explained in more detail below. Publications based on these projects can be found here. For further information on the study, please visit: MAP Study.
Project 1
Which questionnaires do women find acceptable?
We aimed to identify which questionnaire were most acceptable to women for assessment of their perinatal anxiety. We interviewed 41 women who were pregnant or recently gave birth to understand their views and experiences of being asked about perinatal anxiety and mental health problems.
Project 2
What's effective for identifying women with perinatal anxiety?
We aimed to identify the most effective tool to identify women who need treatment for anxiety and the best time during pregnancy to ask women about anxiety. We recruited 2243 women who completed questionnaires at three points during their pregnancy – approximately at 12, 22, and 31 weeks pregnant and once 6 weeks after birth. Interviews were also conducted with 403 women to compare interview responses with questionnaire scores for accuracy. We also aimed to look at the impact of COVID-19 and COVID-related restrictions on women’s anxiety during pregnancy and after birth as well as prevalence and risks for suicidal intent.
Project 3
Which questionnaire is acceptable and practical to use in health services?
This project investigated which tool was acceptable and practical to use in health services by implementing the most effective and acceptable tool in 2 services and evaluating acceptability and ease of use in these services. Healthcare professionals were asked about their experience of using the tool.
Project 4
Rates of perinatal anxiety and need for treatment
We looked at anxiety during pregnancy and after birth in two areas with higher rates of mental health conditions. Information from the second project was used to identify the number of women with perinatal anxiety and who needed treatment as well as factors that increased the risk of women having anxiety.