• Emily Savage McGlynn, Colin R Martin, and Maggie Redshaw.
• Policy Research Unit in Maternal Health and Care, National Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
• J Eval Clin Pract. 2020 Aug 1; 26 (4): 1242-1249.

RationaleLow mood may affect developing relationships with a new baby, partner and family. Early identification of mood disturbance is crucial to improve outcomes for women perinatally. Instruments such as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) are used routinely, with evidence that some women do not feel comfortable with how they are asked about their mental health.ObjectiveTo develop a mood checklist as a user-friendly, effective measure of well-being in post-partum women, for use by health professionals.MethodsCognitive interviews with women who had recently given birth assessed response format and face validity of a prototype measure. A cross-sectional survey followed. A random split-half instrument development protocol was used. Exploratory factor analysis determined factor structure with the first sample,. The second sample confirmed factor structure and evaluationof key psychometric variables and known-groups discriminant validity (KGDV), requiring a supplementary between-subjects design with stratification based on case negative/case positive classification using EPDSscreening cut-off criteria.ResultsCognitive interview data confirmed the face validity of the measure. Exploratory factor analysis indicated an 18 item two-factor model with two (negatively) correlated factors. Factor 1 loaded with items reflecting positive mood and factor 2 negative items. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a good fit to the two-factor model across the full spectrum of fit indices. Statistically significant differences between groups were observed in relation to as EPDS caseness classification. Cronbach alpha coefficients for the positive and negative subscales revealed acceptable internal consistency of 0.79 and 0.72, respectively.ConclusionThe outcome checklist may be appropriate for use in clinical practice. It demonstrated effective psychometric properties and clear cross-validation with existing commonly used measures.© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

13 keywords...

hide…