Browsing by Author "Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis"

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    Development of a screening protocol for depresion in antenatal clinics in Malawi
    (University of the Western Cape, 2017) Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis; Chipps, Jennifer
    Depression is a source of significant disease burden of pregnant women although protocols for screening antenatal depression are lacking in Malawi. This research study aimed at developing a screening protocol for depression in antenatal clinics in Malawi. This thesis reports data from 4 studies to develop a screening protocol for antenatal depression, one peer reviewed published paper, one peer reviewed accepted paper and two papers submitted to peer reviewed journals.
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    Performance of the 3-item screener, the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, the Hopkins symptoms checklist-15 and the self-reporting questionnaire and pregnancy risk questionnaire, in screening of depression in antenatal clinics in the Blantyre district of Malawi
    (University of Malawi, 2018) Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis; Chipps, Jennifer
    Screening instruments for antenatal depression vary in performance. This study aimed at assessing the performance of a range of screening instruments in detecting depressive symptoms in antenatal clinics in Blantyre district, Malawi. A cross-sectional study was conducted to screen for depression among women attending 8 selected antenatal clinics in Blantyre district using 3-item screener, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-15 (HSCL-15), Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) and Pregnancy Risk Questionnaire (PRQ). The instruments were administered to a random sample of 480 pregnant women. Data were analysed using SPSS 22.0 testing for performance differences in proportions of screen positives and how screen positive results might differ by particular variables.
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    Protocol for assessing feasibility, acceptability and fidelity of screening for antenatal depression (FAFSAD) by midwives in Blantyre District, Malawi
    (Springer Nature, 2021) Chipps, Jennifer; Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis; Mwagomba, Modesta
    Depression is often underdiagnosed by treating health professionals. This is a situation in Malawi where there is no routine screening of depression at antenatal clinics. Recently, a Screening Protocol for Antenatal Depression (SPADe) that can be used by midwives to screen for antenatal depression was developed in Blantyre District. SPADe proposes multistage screening of antenatal depression by midwives which may enable early detection and treatment of pregnant women with depression. Proper treatment of antenatal depression can assist in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, utilisation of SPADe in clinical practice to screening for depression in antenatal clinics has not been established yet. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is to assess feasibility of screening for depression by midwives using SPADe in antenatal clinics in Blantyre District. The secondary aim was to assess acceptability and fidelity of screening for depression by midwives using SPADe in antenatal clinics in Blantyre District.
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    A systematic review of screening instruments for depression for use in antenatal services in low resource settings
    (BMC, 2017) Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis; Chipps, Jennifer
    BACKGROUND: In low resource settings, short, valid and reliable instruments with good high sensitivity and specificity are essential for the screening of depression in antenatal care. A review of published evidence on screening instruments for depression for use in antenatal services in low resource settings was conducted. The aim of this review was to appraise the best available evidence on screening instruments suitable for detecting depression in antenatal care in low resource settings. METHODS: Searching, selection, quality assessment, and data abstraction was done by two reviewers. ScienceDirect, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PubMed, SABINET and PsychARTICLES databases were searched using relevant search terms. Retrieved studies were evaluated for relevancy (whether psychometric data were reported) and quality. Data were synthesised and sensitivity and specificity of instruments were pooled using forest plots. RESULTS: Eleven articles were included in the review. The methodological quality ranged from adequate to excellent. The review found 7 tools with varying levels of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, including the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Beck Depression Index, Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale 20, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-25, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale and Self-Reporting Questionnaire. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale was most common and had the highest level of accuracy (AUC = .965) and sensitivity. CONCLUSION: This review suggests that the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale can be a suitable instrument of preference for screening antenatal depression in low resource settings because of the reported level of accuracy, sensitivity and specificity.
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    Validity and utility of instruments for screening of depression in women attending antenatal clinics in Blantyre district in Malawi
    (AOSIS, 2018) Chorwe-Sungani, Genesis; Chipps, Jennifer
    Screening instruments should be brief, valid and easy to use if they are to be useful in a busy antenatal clinic in low-resource settings. A short instrument can be used in a busy antenatal clinic in combination with a more detailed instrument once referred. This study aimed at assessing the validity of a range of depression screening instruments and to test the utility of combining these instruments for use in antenatal clinics in Blantyre district, Malawi. This was a sensitivity analysis study using a sub-sample of 97 pregnant women drawn from a cross-sectional study (sample size = 480) that was screening for depression in eight antenatal clinics. Data from the cross-sectional study for the 97 pregnant women on the 3-item screener, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Hopkins Symptoms Checklist-15 (HSCL-15) and Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ), was compared with a gold standard, the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI). Sensitivity, specificity and area under curve (AUC) were calculated to test for validity of the instruments. The utility of various combinations of the instruments was tested using the compensatory, conjunctive, probability and sequential rules.