The Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) Maternal Depression Project was originally developed by Dr. Amy Heneghan at Case Western Reserve University in late 2004 and transferred in July 2006 to Dr. Frank Putnam at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital after Dr. Heneghan left Ohio for San Francisco.
The project consists of two main components: 1) a maternal depression awareness training for health professionals serving mothers and children; and 2) a project to evaluate the feasibility of large scale screening for maternal depression by Help Me Grow workers in 17 counties in Ohio.
Current Ohio counties participating in the project include:
1) Ashland County
2) Athens County
3) Clark County
4) Clermont County
5) Columbiana County
6) Fairfield County
7) Hancock County
8) Hocking County
9) Lorain County
10) Lucas County
11) Mahoning County
12) Muskingum County
13) Scioto County
14) Trumbull County
15) Union County
16) Vinton County
17) Washington County
The project involves Help Me Grow workers administering the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) to mothers of infants between 4-20 weeks of age as part of their standard services. Mothers scoring in the clinical range (?12) on the EPDS are referred to a county mental health department coordinator, who, in turn, arranges for further evaluation and treatment of the mother. Based on experience with this project, screening will be expanded to additional counties in the future.
A web-based data system is utilized by HMG Service Coordinators to enter EPDS screening information and make referrals within their counties. Data is analyzed and shared with project participants. The database allows better communication between HMG and Mental Health around services provided to Mothers and Children in each county. Ultimately, this project will inform us about the rates of maternal depression and how to better assist this population.