Using the EPDS to Identify Anxiety in Mothers of Infants on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Sara M. Stasik-O’Brien, Jennifer E. McCabe-Beane and Lisa S. Segre

Clinical Nursing Research, 2019, vol. 28, issue 4, 473-487

Abstract: Despite the prevalence of postpartum depression and anxiety, current screening recommendations are limited to depression symptoms. Screening using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale–Anxiety subscale (EPDS-A) may enhance ability to detect distress in postpartum women. We aimed to replicate the EPDS-A in 200 mothers with infants hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and examine its incremental utility in identifying emotional distress. Presence of the EPDS-A was identified using exploratory factor analysis. Women experiencing elevated anxiety were identified using a previously established cutoff score. Results replicated the EPDS-A for the first time in mothers with infants hospitalized in the NICU. In all, 21.9% of these women had elevated anxiety symptoms and nearly one quarter of them would have been missed in routine depression screening. Use of the EPDS-A, in addition to the total EPDS score, is a promising approach to identifying anxious women in need of further evaluation, treatment, or support.

Keywords: anxiety; Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; screening; postnatal; neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:clnure:v:28:y:2019:i:4:p:473-487

DOI: 10.1177/1054773817740532

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