Improving Postpartum Depression Screening in African American Women Less than 35 years.

Background: Postpartum depression (PPD) is a devastating illness that can produce detrimental outcomes for mothers, families, and communities. Depression screening during the early postpartum period is essential as it assist health care providers in identifying “high-risk” cases of PPD, including women suffering from major depression, hallucinations, or suicidal thoughts (Couto et al., 2015). Postpartum depression is highest in African American (AA) women under the age of 35 years who are single mothers, women who are victims of domestic violence and those who reside in under-resourced communities. Education on how to effectively screen for and treat PPD at the provider and community level is vital in combating the disparities in black maternal mental health.
Objective: The purpose of this project is to implement a quality improvement project that will identify the lack of screening for PPD in AA women <35 years by healthcare providers, and educate and train clinical providers on how to effectively screen and diagnose PPD using a standardized screening tool during the early postpartum period of AA women < 35 yrs.