title: Using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale to achieve best practice standards.
abstract: The present paper reports the findings of a quantitative descriptive study that evaluated the use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as a screening tool in the child health context. Two hundred and sixty-one women who attended child health clinics in one metropolitan health region of Western Australia over a designated 4-week period for a 6-8 week or 7-9 month health scheduled infant screening assessment agreed to participate. The study aimed to (i) identify the proportion of women in the study who scored 13 or greater on the EPDS; (ii) evaluate current practice outcomes from the use of the EPDS by child health nurses and; (iii) report demographic variables associated with scores obtained from participants. Findings showed that the EPDS is a useful screening tool to identify women who may be at risk of developing depression during the postpartum period. However, the study also identified a weakness in clinical practice protocols, with some child health nurses not referring women who reported symptoms of depression on the self-report scale. Therefore, to ensure best practice standards more education regarding clinical practice protocols needs to be implemented with child health nurses in order to facilitate optimal outcomes for women using the self-report scale.
authors: Fremantle Hospital and Health Service, Fremantle and School of Nursing and Midwifery, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. J.Downie@curtin.edu.au
authors: Jill
authors: J
authors: Downie
authors: Dianne
authors: D
authors: Wynaden
authors: Sunita
authors: S
authors: McGowan
authors: Dianne
authors: D
authors: Juliff
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Axten
authors: Libby
authors: L
authors: Fitzpatrick
authors: Sue
authors: S
authors: Ogilvie
authors: Shirley
authors: S
authors: Painter
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012606:Scotland; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires