2024, Volume 17, Issue 8, pp 782 – 790

Impact of an educational intervention on improving maternity nurses’ knowledge and attitudes toward postpartum depression: a quasi-experimental study

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Authors and Affiliations

Corresponding author Amal Ibrahim Khalil Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Department, College of Nursing, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Shebin El Kom, Egypt E-mail: khalila@ksau-hs.edu.sa; amalkhalil34@yahoo.com

Abstract

Maternal mental health is a serious issue that affects both mothers and infants, necessitating increased knowledge and awareness among healthcare providers. This study assessed the effect of an educational intervention on maternity nurses’ knowledge and attitudes towards postpartum depression (PPD) using a quasi-experimental pre/post-one-group design. The sample consisted of 120 maternity nurses recruited conveniently from different maternity departments at the Ministry of National Guard hospital. The study used two valid and reliable instruments: The Postpartum Depression Literacy Scale (PODLIS) by Mirsalimi et al. (2020) and the Attitudes Scale adapted from Kang et al. (2019). The participants, predominantly aged 30-39 with at least a bachelor’s degree and holding SN1 nurse status, were mainly from Malaysia. The intervention significantly increased PPD knowledge in all domains, with the greatest improvement in risk factors and causes (10.09%). Positive associations existed between the pre-intervention attitude scale and professional help, recognition facilitation, and overall PPD knowledge (P < 0.05). Post-intervention, attitudes correlated positively with understanding risk factors and causes and facilitating recognition (P < 0.05). There were significant variations in the change of overall PPD knowledge based on the participants’ nationality (P < 0.05), and attending a PPD workshop significantly affected the change of attitude (P < 0.05). The study concluded the beneficial effects of the educational intervention on both knowledge and attitudes regarding PPD among maternity nurses. Customized educational programs are essential for preparing healthcare professionals with the necessary competencies and comprehension to deal with PPD effectively.

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About this article

PMC ID: 11556525
PubMed ID: 
DOI: 10.25122/jml-2024-0147

Article Publishing Date (print): 8 2024
Available Online: 

Journal information

ISSN Printing: 1844-122X
ISSN Online: 1844-3117
Journal Title: Journal of Medicine and Life

Copyright License: Open Access

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.


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