Journal article
The Development and Initial Validation of the Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Scale in Student Midwives
Journal of Midwifery & Reproductive Health, Vol.5(4), pp.1021-1031
2017
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Abstract
Background & aim: Perinatal mental health problems have been demonstrated to impact upon maternal, and fetal/child outcomes. Despite the global evidence and a policy-driven responsibility for identification of these problems, research demonstrates that student midwives/midwives lack knowledge and confidence to assess, identify, and manage them. A similar context is evident for learning disabilities, despite the holistic care philosophy of midwifery. A brief assessment tool to identify knowledge and confidence defecits and strengths within a holistic care framework could support curriculum development. This study sought to develop a Perinatal Mental Health Awareness scale and evaluate its psychometric properties in student midwives.Methods: We employed a cross-sectional and exploratory instrument development and evaluation design to determine the measurement veracity of the new scale.Results: The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties, revealing three subscales mapping onto (i) mental health symptoms, (ii) physical/medical issues and (iii) learning disability. Results indicated a clear differentiation in scores across the subscales, indicating comparative deficits in mental health domains.Conclusion: Our findings facilitate confidence in the psychometric robustness of the measure. The scale enables student midwives to assess and compare different domains of midwifery practice, in line with a holistic model of midwifery care. A focus on physical health in midwifery education appears to disadvantage knowledge and confidence for managing mental health problems in a midwifery context. This valuable finding highlights the potential need for curriculum rebalancing. The measure offers the opportunity to assess and develop curriculum/training provision and monitor the effectiveness of subsequent curricular developments.
Details
- Title
- The Development and Initial Validation of the Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Scale in Student Midwives
- Creators
- Colin Martin (Author) - Buckinghamshire New UniversityJulie Jomeen (Author) - University of HullPatricia Jarrett (Author) - University of Middlesex
- Publication Details
- Journal of Midwifery & Reproductive Health, Vol.5(4), pp.1021-1031
- Publisher
- Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
- Identifiers
- 991012870799602368
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health; School of Health and Human Sciences; Nursing
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article