According to the results of a national survey of practices of public health nurses, 98% provide a new birth visit and of that, only 73% screen and treat postpartum women for depression as a part of their practice. When Postpartum Depression (PPD) goes undiagnosed, the ability of the mother to parents and bond with the baby can be severely undermined. Undiagnosed PPD can have long-term negative effects on the entire family. Besides affecting maternal wellbeing, PPD can have an impact on the healthy cognitive and emotional development of an infant. The scholarly project practice setting was an Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) clinic at Harris County, located in the rural area of Houston, Texas. The setting did not have, or previously use any PPD screening tool to screen postpartum women prior to this project. No previous educational workshop was conducted for any screening tool or testing for PPD in this practice setting prior to this project. A needs assessment showed a higher likelihood of undiagnosed PPD as no assessment tool was utilized by Family Nurse Practitioners (FNPs) in an OB/GYN setting. The purpose of this project was to provide the FNPs at the OB/GYN clinic with improved knowledge of PPD screening with use of screening tools, and education resources to enhance their compliance to screen for PPD. Identifying the suitable intervention mechanisms to detect PPD early necessitates knowledge improvement improvement among the FNPs at Harris County OB/GYN for early routine PPD screening. Specifically, the use of educational workshop to improve knowledge deficit improvement in screening PPD using Beck’s Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS) was assessed, in addition to evaluating the studies that highlight the importance of PPD depression screening. A pretest and posttest questionnaire, developed by the project manager, was used during the workshop for the evaluation of knowledge improvement of PPD and the use of PPD screening tool knowledge by the FNPs at OB/GYN clinic in Harris County. The Stevens Star Model of Knowledge Transformation offers a framework for knowledge transformation to achieve evidence-based practice, and the five processes in this model were utilized with this scholarly project development. The Kurt Lewin Change Theory was chosen to guide this scholarly project. Lewin’s Change Theory is the theoretical framework that concentrates on the strains of organizational change. The project manager performed evaluation of knowledge deficit at baseline, and knowledge change at 6 to 8 weeks after the FNPs attended the one-hour educational workshop for reduction in deficit. Descriptive statistics methodology was utilized to determine effectiveness. Findings suggest positive changes among FNPs in relation to use of the PDSS screening tool, and PPD screening awareness.
