24-hour mobile phone helpline service for women discharged from mother-baby psychiatry unit (MBU): Is it enough?

Özet

Dear Editor, Technology in general, and mobile smartphone technology in particular, has become a valuable medium for disseminating information and deploying public health interventions on a large scale. Telephone helpline services can be a good way to exchange information, provide health education and assistance to manage symptoms, recognize complications early, and to reassure and provide quality care remotely. In a recent publication, Ragesh et al. (1) reported on the feasibility, acceptability, and usage patterns of a 24-hour mobile phone helpline service for women discharged from a mother-baby psychiatry unit in India. The calls received were related to a variety of subjects, including medications, sleep problems, pregnancy planning, symptom exacerbation, appointments, and suicidal ideation. The authors concluded that the helpline phone service appeared to be feasible and acceptable and could be adapted for use in other mother-baby psychiatry units in low and middle-income countries