Enhancing Patient Education for Postpartum Depression in a Pediatric Practice

Abstract

Background: Maternal mental health and mortality is a growing concern nationwide. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends routine, standardized postpartum depression (PPD) screening at well-child visits (Wells, 2023). However, there are still inconsistencies in screening processes, and over 50% of cases remain undetected. Although highly treatable, only 12-30% of identified women receive adequate PPD treatment and services (Cattoni et al., 2022). Due to the detrimental effects of PPD, it is essential to ensure proper screening, education, identification, and interventions are in place.Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement (QI) project was to enhance patient knowledge of PPD and local resources for further evaluation and support through the development and implementation of a patient handout. Methods: Women within one year postpartum attending well-child visits at a pediatric primary care clinic in Queen Creek, Arizona were invited to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational brochure. This handout was designed by the project investigator (PI) in partnership with providers at the pediatric practice. It included information on PPD, its impact and significance, purpose of screening, and available resources. A post-intervention survey was conducted to evaluate perceptions, patient satisfaction, and its effectiveness in enhancing education on PPD. The target sample was 30 surveys. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and free-text responses were summarized. Results: After 2 weeks of implementation, 20 women agreed to participate. A Likert Scale was used to analyze survey questions, and answers were interpreted as a rating from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Average agreement scores were calculated and used to evaluate results. Overall, after reviewing the brochure, women felt comfortable discussing PPD with their child’s provider (4.53) and had a better understanding of PPD (4.21). Patient satisfaction with the brochure was also high, and respondents found listed resources helpful (4.79). Although most women reported completing PPD screenings prior to their appointments, several perceived barriers to screening were still identified. Conclusions: This QI project suggested that the use of a patient educational brochure was effective for enhancing patient knowledge of PPD and available local resources at a pediatric clinic in Queen Creek, Arizona.