Problem Solving Therapy Co-Location in Nurse Home Visiting: A Feasibility Study

Principal Investigator: Susan Pfefferle, PhD, PI
Funder: Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation/NY Community Trust Foundation
Timeframe: 02/07-04/08
Affiliation: Center for Mental Health Services Research (CMHSR)

Project Staff:  Susan Pfefferle, PhD, PI
                       Enola Proctor, PhD
                       Luis E. Zayas, PhD

Participating Organizations: 

Nurses for Newborns

Project Contact:  Susan Pfefferle, PhD,
                            Phone:  (314) 935-6376
                            spfefferle@wustl.edu

Project Update as of 07/17/2008:

Description:

Stage: Completed. Writing publications from study data.

Postnatal depression is a major public health problem. The postnatal period is a window of opportunity to treat depression in women because it is a time when they come into greater contact with the health care system, including nurse home visitation. Co-location of therapy for depression within nurse home visitation can improve access to treatment by reducing barriers such as transportation. It can also provide an acceptable, non-stigmatizing treatment that can benefit both mothers and their babies. This study has brought services to an underserved population, using an evidence-based intervention, in the context of a willing, able, and motivated delivery system.

This project has:

• Trained non-mental health specialists (home visiting RNs) in an evidenced-based treatment for depression (Problem Solving Therapy [PST])
• Examined the feasibility of delivering PST in nurse home visitation
• Determined if such therapy delivered in women’s homes by the nurses is acceptable to low income mothers

The overall goal was to improve access to depression care through co-location of treatment with a plan to pursue federal funding for a full-scale, randomized controlled trial, to study whether PST can be feasibly carried out by nurses through home visitation.