Evidence summary on the timing and frequency of screening for perinatal depression

This study sought to search, evaluate, and summarize the best evidence about the time and frequency of screening for perinatal depression (PND).

The UpToDate, Scottish Intercollegiate Network, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Guidelines International Network, BMJ Best Practice, Cochrane Library, Embase, Campbell Collaboration, CINAHL, Joanna Briggs Institute Library, Medline, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM databases were searched to retrieve relevant articles.

A total of 9 articles were included in the meta-analysis, comprising 2 guidelines, 1 expert consensus, 1 evidence summary, 3 systematic reviews, and 2 clinical decisions. A total of 11 articles of best evidence were collected. The evidence was mainly related to the two aspects of screening time and frequency.

There is abundant evidence on the best screening time for and frequency of PND; however, some evidence was from foreign evidence-based resources. Local clinical conditions need to be considered at the time of application.