Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD)
Contacts and Resources
- Perinatal Mental Health Support
- Depression or Anxiety During and After Pregnancy
- Support for BIPOC Parents
- Support for LGBTQ+ Parents
Information for Parents and Caregivers
Information for Health Care Providers
Information for Public Health
Related Programs
Postpartum Depression Screening Quality Improvement Project
Post-Partum Depression Screening Quality Improvement Project - Looking for Clinic Sites
Information for Participating Clinics
In recognition of the ongoing need for post-partum depression screening and services, in partnership with the MN Department of Human Services and CMS, the MN Department of Health is pleased to announce we are enrolling clinics that provide well-child visits in a new Quality Improvement (QI) project, serving patients in the Minnesota Health Care Programs (MHCP) population. The QI project will focus on developing and implementing protocols for screening and referrals for post-partum depression in well-child visits within the first year of the infant's life.
The Minnesota Department of Health will be administering the Adult Quality Grant Post-Partum Depression Screening during Well Child Visit QIP, as part of a larger Adult Medicaid Quality Grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), awarded to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The project will run for 10 months starting February 2015. A limited monthly stipend will be given to participating clinics.
Eligible Clinics
- Serve the Minnesota Care or Medical Assistance population
- Are ready to implement universal screening for postpartum depression in at least three well- child visits in the first year of a child's life
- Are willing and interested in making a system change as demonstrated by:
- Commitment of a clinic champion to the project (could be a family physician, pediatrician or nurse practitioner)
- Commitment of staff time to support the referral portion of the screening process
- Support of the clinic medical director
- Have a minimum of 5 well-child visits in an average month for children 1-12 months old who are enrolled in Minnesota Care or MA
Project Activities
As part of this project, participating primary care providers and clinic care coordinators will:
- Attend a 4 hour, in-person collaborative session to launch the QI project
The purpose of this session is to provide the opportunity for providers from participating communities to network and discuss how to partner to improve service linkages between them. Each participating community will have its own session. A Quality Improvement expert will provide technical assistance on implementing the Model for Improvement and the project coordinator will provide training on screening practices and referral options. The Learning Collaborative will launch Feb. 25th at the New Brighton Community Center - to register follow (LINK) - Participate in technical assistance site visits
Project staff will visit participating sites as needed, throughout the course of the project. The purpose of these visits is to provide ongoing technical assistance, answer any specific questions participating sites may have, provide resources and encourage care coordination efforts. - Participate in technical assistance phone calls and/or webinars
Project staff will host conference calls with each participating site and host ad-hoc technical assistance phone calls with sites as needed. - Participate in project evaluation activities
Participating clinics providers may be asked to complete surveys, interviews or other evaluation tools and may be asked to work with a chart abstractor in order to measure quality improvement project impact. Data collection and analysis will be performed by an independent evaluator.
Project staff will work with and support participating clinics/health care providers to apply the following strategies in the pediatric well-child visit:
- Develop a universal protocol for screening for post-partum depression in the well-child visit, using a validated screening tool.
- Strengthen understanding of referral options for mothers screening positive for post-partum depression, considering accessibility, intensity, and immediacy.
- Implement and test protocols and referral process, improve, and sustain.
Strategies for Strong Referrals
Participating clinics will be expected to develop a system that assures efficient and high-quality linkages mothers with positive screens on the depression screening tool. Project staff will support participating sites in using these strategies through ongoing technical assistance and a small stipend. Project staff will assist each site in developing a consistent and supportive referral practice which may include:
- Referral to a medical provider for the mother
- Guidelines on how to encourage the mother to follow through on referrals
- Community supports for PPD including groups, hotlines, other agencies
- Connecting with family home visiting through local public health
If you are interested in participating in this project, please contact 651-201-3760 or email Health.MCH@state.mn.us.
Updated