Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of Master of Social Work (MSW) students who received perinatal depression (PD) training as part of their coursework. Additionally, we sought to identify differences in PD knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and openness to further education between students who had received PD training compared to students without PD training. Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sampling, 177 largely female (91.0%), Hispanic (46%), and Caucasian (28.2%) MSW students from five public California universities electronically provided demographic data and completed the Depression in Women's Health Settings scale. Most MSW students reported health/mental health (38%) or children/youth/and families (47.5%) as their field of practice. Twenty-nine MSW students (16.4%) reported receiving PD training, 61% child abuse/neglect training, and 50% domestic violence training. Students with PD training were significantly more knowledgeable and reported having the skills to assess, screen, identify, and care for women with PD symptoms versus students without PD training. Given the well-documented association of PD with child abuse/neglect and domestic violence, early PD screening, identification, and referral information must be incorporated into MSW curricula and continuing education in order to promote maternal-infant well-being outcomes.
Highlights
The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of Master of Social Work (MSW) students who received perinatal depression (PD) training as part of their coursework
Findings of this study reveal limited PD training in a racially and ethnically diverse sample of MSW students
Given the well-documented association of PD with child abuse/neglect and domestic violence, it is essential for PD education to be threaded throughout social work curricula
Summary
The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of Master of Social Work (MSW) students who received perinatal depression (PD) training as part of their coursework. Twenty-nine MSW students (16.4%) reported receiving PD training, 61% child abuse/neglect training, and 50% domestic violence training. With a prevalence rate of 15 to 20%, perinatal depression (PD) is one of the most common pregnancy-related health problems and a significant public health concern (ACOG, 2015; Sit et al, 2015) that is closely associated with other public health issues including domestic violence (Kothari et al, 2016) and child abuse (Schury et al, 2017). Perinatal depression is further defined as the onset of depressive symptoms during the pregnancy (antenatal depression) and any time up to 12 months after the birth of a new infant (postpartum depression; ACOG, 2015). Antenatal depressive symptoms are the same as symptoms for major depressive disorder including poor sleep and appetite, anxiety, loss of interest, low mood, and feelings of guilt (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Children of women with persistent PPD are more likely to exhibit behavioral disturbances at age 3.5, have lower high school math scores, and higher prevalence of depression at age 18 (Netsi et al, 2018)
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