Screening for Postpartum Depression During Infant Well Child Visits: A Retrospective Chart Review.
Kathryn LamereNatalia GolovaPublished in: Clinical pediatrics (2022)
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that pediatricians screen mothers for postpartum depression (PPD) at the infant's 1, 2, 4, and 6-month well child (WC) visits. Despite these recommendations, less than 50% of mothers are screened nationally. We evaluated the impact of a statewide quality improvement initiative that implemented routine screening for PPD utilizing the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) at AAP recommended WC visits. A total of 224 patients were included. Screening rates increased significantly at all four WC visits ( P < .01). A higher prevalence of positive EPDS screens was detected in mothers with a history of a mental health condition ( P = .009) and in mothers who reported recent food or housing insecurity ( P = .02). EPDS screening was successfully implemented through a statewide initiative in a busy hospital-based pediatric clinic. Pediatricians play an important role in identifying mothers with PPD and referring them to adequate treatment.
Keyphrases
- quality improvement
- mental health
- depressive symptoms
- end stage renal disease
- sleep quality
- ejection fraction
- newly diagnosed
- high throughput
- primary care
- patient safety
- clinical practice
- mental illness
- chronic kidney disease
- peritoneal dialysis
- risk factors
- prognostic factors
- dna methylation
- young adults
- single cell
- patient reported
- smoking cessation