Authors: (including presenting author): :
LI SY(1), Chung PY(1), Shun KW(2)
Affiliation: :
(1) CCDS Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
(2) Department of Psychiatry, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
Keyword 1: :
Perinatal mental health
Keyword 2: :
Nurse-led intervention
Keyword 3: :
Multidisciplinary collaboration
Keyword 4: :
clinical outcomes
Keyword 5: :
integrated care
Introduction: :
Perinatal mood disorders significantly affect maternal and child wellbeing. Service gap was observed because perinatal cases follow-up in our general adult psychiatric out-patient clinic were not covered in the original CCDS-Psy service model. In view of this, ten patients with mood disorders referred by psychiatrists were invited to join this pilot study after completed structure antenatal and postnatal interventions delivered by psychiatric nurses in the CCDS Clinic during the period of August to December 2025. Interventions included psychological preparation, stress-coping skills, parenting guidance, CBT, IPT, mindfulness, and multidisciplinary case reviews. The program emphasized continuity of care and practical skill-building, with scheduled follow-ups coordinated around obstetric timelines and early parenting demands to maximize engagement and safety.
Objectives: :
• Assess clinical severity, functional recovery, and depressive symptoms.
• Highlight psychiatric nurses’ leadership role.
• Strengthen collaboration between obstetrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry.
Methodology: :
Clinical outcomes were assessed with the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
Result & Outcome: :
Findings revealed significant improvements across all measures: CGI (Z=2.75, r=0.87, p< 0.006) indicated reduced clinical severity; GAF (Z=2.78, r=0.88, p< 0.0055) reflected enhanced functional recovery; and PHQ-9 (Z=3.10, r=0.98, p< 0.00195) demonstrated reductions in depressive symptoms. These results suggest the nurse-led, psychotherapy-informed model is both feasible and clinically meaningful in outpatient perinatal psychiatric care.
The program strengthened collaboration between obstetrics, pediatrics, and psychiatry, formalizing shared care pathways, case reviews, and bidirectional referrals to ensure integrated support for maternal and child wellbeing. This multidisciplinary alignment improved timeliness of interventions and clarity of roles, reducing fragmentation and enhancing safety. Overall, the study reinforces the value of specialized nurse-led services in advancing maternal mental health, functional outcomes, and team integration, and provides a pragmatic framework for scaling structured CCDS nursing support within routine outpatient settings.
