Diagnostic accuracy of screening instruments used to detect postpartum depression among women of reproductive age in the primary care setting : A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common condition of the postpartum period that affects the mother's and child's well-being and functioning. A meta-analysis found a 13% incidence of postpartum depression during the first 12 weeks after birth. The patient's primary and continuing point of care is primary care. Despite the controversy surrounding screening and early detection in primary care settings, many PPD cases remain undetected. Due to the vagueness of this topic, screening tools must be able to detect situations. OBJECTIVE This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to identify the best postpartum depression screening tool for use in primary healthcare among women of reproductive age METHODS This protocol follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Protocols (PRISMA-P) statement. There will be access to the databases ClinicalTrials.gov., PubMed, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and EBSCO between January 2010 and September 2022, but only in English. Two reviewers will identify articles separately by reviewing article titles, abstracts, and full texts. Consensus will be used to settle any disagreements. Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS) will be used to assess the quality and potential for bias. Methodically, data extraction and content analysis will be performed. Quantitative data will be visualized using a forest plot with 95% confidence intervals. The summary receiver operating characteristic curve will characterize the outcome of the diagnostic test. To evaluate the data, the Review Manager 5.3 (Rev Man 5.3) software package will be implemented. RESULTS The suggested systematic review and meta-analyses will enable us to identify the best postpartum depression screening instrument for primary care use. CONCLUSIONS Many PPD cases remain undetected despite the controversy surrounding screening and early identification in primary care settings. Given the ambiguity surrounding this issue, screening tools must be effective at identifying cases. Therefore, we proposed the study to determine the accuracy of various screening instruments used in primary care to identify postpartum depression. These results can help guide future research and clinical objectives to better detect and treat maternal depression. CLINICALTRIAL Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42020216067