The project seeks to educate nurses on the management of cases of prenatal depression. The aim is to help reduce the cases of prenatal depression and therefore ensure that these mothers as they approach the end of the gestational period. The idea is to take the nurses through an education program that will equip them with the technique and skill to adopt evidence-based methods for management of the cases of prenatal depression as well as the prevention of such cases in mothers when in the gestational period. The research or study will seek to the following outcomes;
The prevalence of the incidences of prenatal depression from baseline, to the study period and to the observational or follow up period: Based on the clinical records from the selected settings, the data on the incidences of prenatal depression recorded in the last six months will be considered. The mean and median incidences per month will be calculated to enable develop any patterns. On the other hand, the socioeconomic or demographic data for each patient within this period of six months will be used to develop logical analysis. This will help develop or identify any correlations between the socioeconomic statuses of the patient and therefore help tailor the prevention and management of these cases to each patient. The IBM SPSS Statistics v.20 will be utilized in this case to develop these correlations across the demographic data. The incidences of prenatal depression over the period of the research as well as the cases of prenatal depression over the observational period (follow-up period) will be recorded (DiCenso, Guyatt, & Ciliska, 2014).
Comparisons will be made over the three periods; baseline, research period and the observational period. This data will help determine how well the education for the nurses will impact the pregnant mothers especially on cases of prenatal depression. The Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) will be utilized to determine the cases of prenatal depression (Farr, Denk, Dahms & Dietz, 2014). This is a tool that was developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to help in measuring the cases of prenatal depression at healthcare facilities. It is therefore a proven tool that has been utilized in such settings and has significantly helped provide population-based data helpful in maternal health settings. The differences in the incidences and prevalence between these periods will help identify the long term and short term efficacy of the program and therefore provide evidence as to why the program should be changed, maintained or scrapped (Farr, Denk, Dahms & Dietz, 2014).
The nurses’ knowledge: The program targets to educate nurses on the methods for managing and preventing the cases of prenatal depression in pregnant mothers. The nurses will be provided with a questionnaire at the start of the program that will seek to inquire their level of knowledge and understanding of the issues relating to prenatal depression. After every week of the one-month long education and training session for the nurses, they will be provided with the same questionnaire to assess any changes in their perceptions, knowledge and skill on the management of mothers with or at risk of prenatal depression. The data will be recorded, coded and themed and then subjected to logical analysis to help make comparisons on the knowledge of the nurses at the end of the program as compared to the commencement period. If the nurses will indicate any positive growth in the management and prevention of cases of prenatal depression, as stated in their questionnaires or as provided by the analyzed data, then they will be required to apply the skill within the clinical setting (Farr, Denk, Dahms & Dietz, 2014).
Implications for practice and future research
The cases of prenatal depression are not only a concern for the mother but also for the young child. In most cases, the mothers who experience prenatal tend to develop post-natal depression or even fail in their bid to carry the pregnancy to the end and therefore cases of miscarriage or abortion. Nurses play a critical role in antenatal clinical visits and their relation with the patients, the pregnant mothers in this case determines the likelihood of acquiring prenatal depression for those at risk (DiCenso, Guyatt, & Ciliska, 2014). This implies that if utilized well, this could be a key platform on which nurse scan work with patients collaboratively to help reduce the risk of prenatal depression as well as develop the methods for self-management. Nurses have to consider that the current healthcare system requires them to work more with the individual patient by making a basic understanding of the socioeconomic issues and demographics that affect their health and work towards developing tailored solutions (DiCenso, Guyatt, & Ciliska, 2014).
References
DiCenso, A., Guyatt, G., & Ciliska, D. (2014). Evidence-based nursing: A guide to clinical practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Farr, S. L., Denk, C. E., Dahms, E. W., & Dietz, P. M. (2014). Evaluating universal education and screening for postpartum depression using population-based data. Journal of Women's Health, 23(8), 657-663.
