Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
School
Health Services
Advisor
Mary T. Verklan
Abstract
It is estimated that 24.3% of women in Florida who have recently given birth experience postpartum depression (PPD), which approximates the national percentage. Perinatal nurses are often not provided specific education relating to PPD nor provided reliable methods to screen patients in the hospital setting. The focus of this project was to increase the number of mothers identified as needing follow-up for PPD by formally educating perinatal staff members on the signs and symptoms of depression, while including validated methods of screening patients compared to the current practice of general assessment and verbal interviewing. The approach was supportive of the organizationâs mission centered around the quality caring model in which the care is focused on the nurse first, followed by the patient, then coworkers, and lastly, caring for the community. Following an educational presentation, a total of 48 perinatal nursing staff participated. Participantsâ baseline knowledge of postpartum depression increased by 83.4% and the percentage of mothers the staff identified as at risk for or experiencing depression increased by 32%. Social change occurred because nurses can now quickly identify patients at risk for or experiencing depression and provide immediate intervention and resources while in the hospital setting.
Recommended Citation
Snyder, Amanda, "Postpartum Depression Education and Screening in a Hospital Setting" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 9262.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9262
