Barriers to Implementing a Group Treatment for Maternal Depression in Head Start: Comparing Staff Perspectives

Although providing depression treatment for Head Start mothers may improve child wellbeing, interventions have not been widely used for this purpose. This failure may be due to the characteristics of clients, interventions, or the systems of care in which services are delivered. This study explored barriers to implementing Interpersonal Psychotherapy-Group with ethnic minority Head Start mothers, including differences in the level of staff consensus regarding barriers, which may predict implementation success. Barriers included resource challenges, cultural and linguistic differences, and participant concerns, and staff demonstrated low to moderate consensus. Results emphasize the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders in implementation.