Whānau Āwhina Plunket nurses’ views on the use of the PHQ-3 postnatal depression screening tool: a survey
Jenny Faulkner 1 , Chris Moir
2 *
1 Whānau Āwhina Plunket, PO Box 2248, Nelson 7041, New Zealand.
2 Centre for Postgraduate Nursing Studies, University of Otago, 72 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand.
Journal of Primary Health Care 15(1) 24-29 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC22120
Published: 8 March 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND)
Abstract
Introduction: In New Zealand, nurses visiting families postnatally use the Patient Health Questionnaire-3 (PHQ-3) to screen and detect postnatal depression. Exploring nurses’ perception of the tool when using it with women across cultures is central to ensuring the PHQ-3 tool supports equitable screening and detection of postnatal depression, yet little is known about nurses’ confidence with, and use of, the tool with people of differing cultures.
Aim: The aim of this study was to understand nurses’ confidence in using the PHQ-3 to screen for postnatal depression, particularly its use cross-culturally.
Methods: Quantitative online survey research was carried out in 2019. Fifty-two percent of eligible registered nurses participated (n = 187), completing Likert scale responses and open questions about the use of the screening tool with specific groups, and barriers and facilitators to screening.
Results: Ninety-five percent of participants were confident in their use of the PQH-3, 70% of nurses agreed the PHQ-3 supports the identification of postnatal depression, and most respondents (54.5%) disagreed that the PHQ-3 was a good screening tool cross-culturally.
Discussion: Nurses were confident in their use of the PHQ-3, and it was relatively highly regarded in its ability to detect postnatal depression. However, less confidence in its use across cultures implies the PHQ-3 does not translate to evidence-based, cross-cultural care. To serve culturally diverse populations, consultation is needed on both languages used and cultural practices so that tools are appropriate, otherwise they cannot be validated for use cross-culturally.
Keywords: child health, cross-cultural care, depression, maternal health, nursing, postnatal, postpartum, screening.
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