The Development and Initial Validation of the Perinatal Mental Health Awareness Scale in Student Midwives

• Main Authors: Colin Martin (Author), Julie Jomeen (Author), Patricia Jarrett (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, 2017-10-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 2345-4792; 2345-4792; 10.22038/jmrh.2017.9251
• Keywords: Assessment; Curriculum; Holistic; Learning disability; Perinatal mental health; Psychometric; Gynecology and obstetrics; RG1-991
• Source: Journal of Midwifery & Reproductive Health, Vol 5, Iss 4, Pp 1021-1031 (2017)

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.