Perinatal mental health among UK military partners

Contact: Rachael Gribble Email: rachael.gribble@kcl.ac.uk Department: Psychological Medicine Institution: King’s College London  Project timeline: Ideally commencing in January, but with flexibility (aim to complete by autumn 2024).  Project duration: Expected to be 13 weeks Closing date: 5/12/2023 Expertise required: The student will have demonstrable experience with: – quantitative analyses – experience in preparing academic outputs – interest or experience in perinatal health and/or the health of military partners – strong initiative and ability to work independently Project description: The purpose of the current study is to understand how having a partner in the UK Armed Forces affects the mental health and wellbeing of women during and after pregnancy. This will be achieved through the following aims: Aim 1: To estimate the prevalence of Perinatal Depression (PND) among spouses and partners of UK Service personnel compared with women in the general population. Secondary measures are to estimate and compare prevalence of perinatal Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Aim 2: To identify risk factors for PND, GAD and PTSD among spouses/partners of UK Armed Forces personnel. Description of the work involved: The goal of this project is to produce an academic paper for publication in a peer-reviewed article. The student will be responsible for: – data cleaning – preparing data analysis plans – conducting data analyses – preparing publications (lay summary and academic paper) Student benefits: The student will gain experience in: – data cleaning and preparation – training in quantitative data analysis (regression) – preparation of manuscripts and other outputs – engagement with stakeholders – working with wider team of family and military researchers