Exploring the nexus between maternal and mental health in climate change-affected Indigenous communities: Participatory action research in Guatemala

 

Mental health disorders are the largest cause of disability in Guatemala; however, formal mental health care is scarce and out of reach in rural areas, where many Indigenous communities struggle with trauma tied to historical and contemporary violence, dispossession and discrimination. Existing formal mental health supports are rooted in a biomedical model with little recognition of Indigenous expertise and perspectives. Concurrently, Indigenous women in Guatemala experience higher maternal mortality, as well as poorer maternal health outcomes, compared with more advantaged social groups, and they face a gap in maternal and mental health-care policies.

This project will develop a community-informed understanding of the nexus between maternal health and mental health needs in 20 rural Indigenous communities in two of the poorest departments in Guatemala. These departments are also impacted by climate-change-driven extreme weather events, including heavy storms and floods that damage housing and crops and force temporary community evacuations. This compounds the challenges to maternal and mental health and intensifies the need for integrated solutions.

Gender equity-enhancing strategies and community-led knowledge mobilization will be co-developed and implemented to better support community-based midwives and other traditional providers in their role as informal mental health providers across the perinatal cycle. The co-designed implementation model will be evaluated and adapted and its results shared with stakeholders. A digital platform will also be developed to support implementation of the intervention.

This project is part of a second cohort of research projects in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Middle East and North Africa to support research on the understudied area of the interface between sexual, reproductive and maternal health and mental health.