Development and validation of a three-item version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

Objective To develop and validate a brief screening instrument for postpartum depression in resource-constrained primary care settings. Method Secondary data analysis of a cohort of 305 mothers (Mdn(age) = 26) attending well-child check-ups in six primary care centers in Santiago, Chile, answered the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview depression module. A predictive model for postpartum depression was built using logistic and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regressions, with bootstrap validation. Results A three-item version of the EPDS exhibited excellent discriminative capacity (cstatistic = 0.95) and showed no significant differences versus the full version of the EPDS (chi(2)(1) = 1.75,p = .187). The best trade-off between sensitivity (92.86%) and specificity (86.70%) was achieved at a cut-off score of 8/9. Conclusions The three-item version of the EPDS can save clinicians valuable time, which might potentially improve communication of results to patients.Universidad de Santiago de Chile Ministerio de Salud de Chile 4127-41LE12 ANID - Millennium Science Initiative/Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality-MIDAP ANID Millennium Science Initiative, grant "Millennium Nucleus to Improve the Mental Health of Adolescents and Youths, Imhay

Qualitative assessment from the perspective of participants of a pilot workshop designed to prevent adolescent depression

El estudio consistió en una evaluación cualitativa de la versión piloto del taller “Yo Pienso, Yo Siento, Yo Actúo”. Este taller está destinado a prevenir la depresión en adolescentes y está basado en el enfoque cognitivo-conductual. La versión piloto fue realizada el 2008 en cuatro cursos de Primero Medio, correspondientes a dos colegios de la Comuna de San Bernardo. El objetivo del estudio fue conocer las percepciones de los estudiantes que participaron en el taller piloto sobre la experiencia vivida y sus sugerencias sobre posibles modifi caciones al diseño, con la fi nalidad de generar insumos para elaborar la versión defi nitiva del taller. La metodología consistió en la realización de grupos focales en cada curso intervenido, centrados en la evaluación de los componentes fundamentales del taller. Los principales resultados fueron que los participantes realizaron una evaluación general positiva del taller, que les pareció acertada la metodología de trabajo grupal y que le asignaron una gran importancia al control disciplinario en las sesiones y al vínculo que establecieron con los monitores. Los aprendizajes más signifi cativos fueron en relación a la técnica de resolución de problemas. El espacio del taller fue valorado también como instancia de comunicación y mejoría de las relaciones interpersonales en los cursos. Las principales conclusiones fueron que el taller muestra una buena aceptación por parte de los participantes, que es importante reforzar el manejo de la disciplina durante las sesiones y que se debe garantizar la calidad del vínculo con los monitores.The study consisted of a qualitative assessment of the pilot version of the workshop “Yo Pienso, Yo Siento, Yo Actúo” (“I think, I feel, I do”). This workshop is intended to prevent depression in adolescents and is based on the cognitive-behavioral approach. The pilot version was carried out in 2008 in four classes of Primero Medio (ninth grade) in two schools of the San Bernardo borough. The objective of the study was to understand the perceptions of students who participated in the pilot workshop on their experience and their suggestions for changes to the design with the objective of generating inputs to produce the fi nal version of the workshop. The methodology included conducting focus groups in each class involved, focusing on the evaluation of the main components of the workshop. The main results were that participants held an overall positive assessment of the workshop; they found group work methodology successful; they attributed great importance to disciplinary control during sessions and to the relationship established with the monitors. The most signifi cant learning was related with the technique of solving problems. The workshop environment was also related as an instance of communication and improvement of interpersonal relationships within the classes. The main fi ndings were that the workshop showed good acceptance by the participants; it is important to strengthen the management of discipline during the sessions and to ensure the quality of the relationship with the monitors