University of Twente Student Theses

Login

What mothers want: the experiences and priorities of mothers in the screening trajectory for postpartum depression.

Kaya, A.H. (2015) What mothers want: the experiences and priorities of mothers in the screening trajectory for postpartum depression.

[img] PDF
1MB
Abstract:Background Postpartum depression (PPD) is a major public health problem that needs attention because of its serious effects on women and children. To detect PPD as soon as possible, screening with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) takes place in Youth Health Care (YHC) settings in the region of Twente. Where necessary, referral to the family doctor or a mental health care institute takes place. Many mothers perceived barriers in the screening, referral and follow-up for PPD. However, little is known about the experiences and especially about the priorities of mothers in the screening, referral and follow-up for PPD. Objective The objective of this research is to gain insight on the experiences and priorities of mothers in the process of screening for PPD, referral and follow-up in the YHC setting. Methods A total of 176 mothers that have given birth in the period of January 2013 to May 2014 in the region of Twente participated in an online questionnaire survey. The questions related to the demographics of the mother, the period during the screening (process of screening) and the period after the screening (process of referral and follow-up). Through descriptive analysis, mothers’ experiences and priorities were determined. Results The results showed that in the process of screening, the clinic was not suitable for completing the EPDS-10 and the explanation of the YHC physician at the clinic to select the right next step was not sufficient. False-positive screened mothers did not seem to suffer from the harms that false-positive screening results can bring, but were not pleased with it either. Mothers with PPD seemed to have less confidence in the YHC physician which made them talk about their feelings and thoughts and the outcome of the EPDS-10 corresponded less with their feelings than mothers without PPD. To mothers without PPD, it was more important that the YHC physician spent sufficient time on listening to their feelings at the clinic than it was to mothers with PPD. In the process of referral and follow-up, receiving sufficient explanation of the YHC physician/YHC nurse about the reason for a referral was not important but not non-important to either. Receiving sufficient explanation of the family doctor to select the right next step in treatment was not important. Receiving sufficient explanation of the family doctor to select the right next step in the ‘mother-baby intervention’ was not important also and the explanation of the family doctor was not sufficient. Conclusion We advocate that researchers and YHC pay sufficient attention to mothers’ bad experiences and low reported priority of aspects in the screening trajectory through further research. By gaining more clarity from further research, YHC could intervene on actions which may lead to an improvement of quality of care for PPD.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:01 general works
Programme:Health Sciences MSc (66851)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/68220
Export this item as:BibTeX
EndNote
HTML Citation
Reference Manager

 

Repository Staff Only: item control page