Screening for Postpartum Depression in American Indian/Alaska Native Women: A Comparison of Two Instruments

Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res. 2018;25(2):74-102. doi: 10.5820/aian.2502.2018.74.

Abstract

This review examined validation studies of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to identify an appropriate postpartum depression (PPD) screening tool for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women in the U.S. Databases were searched using: EPDS paired with psychometric properties or validation and PHQ-9 paired with PPD and psychometric properties or validation, yielding a final sample of 58 articles. Both tools have good internal consistency, but discriminative validity for detecting PPD in women from non-Western cultures is low. Positive predictive values in these women are low and diverse (EPDS [n = 21] median 67%, range 21.1-90%; PHQ-9 [n = 1] median 26%). The low predictive accuracy of both tools suggests the tools may be culturally biased.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Alaska Natives*
  • Depression, Postpartum / diagnosis*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Indians, North American*
  • Patient Health Questionnaire / standards*
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / standards*
  • Validation Studies as Topic*