Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
3-16-2026
First Advisor
Sandy King
Second Advisor
Veronica Arredondo
Abstract
Postpartum depression (PPD) remains underrecognized in clinical practice, with many cases going undiagnosed due to inconsistent or absent screening processes. At the project site, only 60% of postpartum patients reported that their mental health needs were adequately addressed, highlight-ing a critical gap in care. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to implement an evidence-based PPD screening tool and evaluate its impact on provider confidence and patient outcomes. Guided by Lewin’s Theory of Planned Change and Orem’s Self-Care Deficit Theory, the project aimed to improve physician and nursing staff confidence in screening and increase appropriate interventions for patients who screened positive. A quantitative pre-post design was used with a sample of nine providers in an outpatient women’s health clinic. The intervention included provider education and integration of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) into routine postpartum visits. Data were collected using a provider confidence sur-vey and electronic health record reports. Results demonstrated a significant improvement in pro-vider confidence following the intervention. All postpartum patients were screened, and 83% screened positive, with 100% of those patients receiving appropriate intervention. Limitations in-cluded small sample size and single-site design. This project supports the effectiveness of standard-ized screening and education in improving early identification and management of PPD, ultimately enhancing maternal outcomes and nursing practice.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Yaminah, "Quality Improvement Project: Implementation of a Screening Tool for Postpartum Depression" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 348.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/348
