Melissa L. Anderson|Kelly S. Wolf Craig|Sheri Hostovsky|Maureen Bligh|Emily Bramande|Kristin L. Walker|Kathleen Biebel|Nancy Byatt
Creating the Capacity to Screen Deaf Women for Perinatal Depression: A Pilot Study
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|Gallaudet University|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School|University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
compared hearing women deaf female sign language users receive suboptimal maternal health care report dissatisfaction prenatal care experiences healthcare providers begin regularly screen perinatal depression validated screening tools accessible deaf women due severe disparities english literacy health literacywe conducted oneyear communityengaged pilot study create initial american sign language asl translation edinburgh postnatal depression scale epds conduct videophone screening interviews deaf perinatal women across united states perform preliminary statistical analyses resulting pilot datawe enrolled 36 deaf perinatal women 5 weeks gestation one year postpartumresults supported internal consistency full asl epds provide evidence internal consistency anxiety depression subscales presented asl format participants reported mean total score 56 30 points asl epds sd 42 thirtyone percent participants reported scores mild depression range six percent moderate range none severe rangelimitations included small sample size restricted range depression scores nonnormality distribution lack fullystandardized asl epds administration due interview approach informed study strengths limitations lessons learned future efforts include larger robust psychometric study inform development computerassisted selfinterviewing version asl epds automated scoring functions hearing nonsigning medical providers use screen deaf women perinatal depression