A primary healthcare team had low sensitivity for detecting postnatal depression
Questions Does the use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPNDS) at 6-8 weeks postpartum detect women with postnatal depression not previously detected by a primary healthcare team? Can the primary healthcare team as a whole detect more women with postnatal depression in the community than can individual groups of general practitioners, health visitors, or midwives? Can the number of contacts women have with healthcare providers after delivery be used to screen for postnatal depression?
Design
A blinded comparison of the ability of a primary healthcare team, as a whole and as individual professional groups, and the EPNDS to detect postnatal depression.
Setting
7 general practices in Bolton, UK.
Participants
176 mothers who attended their postnatal examination at 6-8 weeks after delivery. Exclusion criteria were an inability to …
