Neighborhood Effects on PND Symptom Severity for Women Enrolled in a Home Visiting Program

Community Ment Health J. 2018 May;54(4):420-428. doi: 10.1007/s10597-017-0175-y. Epub 2017 Oct 23.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between postnatal depression (PND) symptoms severity and structural neighborhood characteristics among women enrolled in a home visiting program. The sample included 295 mothers who were at risk for developing PND, observed as 3-month Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) scores ≥ 10. Two neighborhood predictor components (residential stability and social disadvantage) were analyzed as predictors of PND symptom severity using a generalized estimating equation. Residential stability was negatively associated with PND symptom severity. Social disadvantage was not found to be statistically significantly. The findings suggest that residential stability is associated with a reduction in PND symptom severity for women enrolled in home visiting program.

Keywords: EPDS; Home visiting; Neighborhoods risk factors; Postnatal depression; Residential stability.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Depression, Postpartum / diagnosis
  • Depression, Postpartum / epidemiology
  • Depression, Postpartum / etiology*
  • Female
  • House Calls
  • Humans
  • Kentucky / epidemiology
  • Mothers / psychology*
  • Ohio / epidemiology
  • Pregnancy
  • Principal Component Analysis
  • Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
  • Residence Characteristics* / statistics & numerical data
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Young Adult