Scoping Review of the Use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in the United States

To evaluate the validity of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) for screening during the perinatal period in the United States and concerns regarding its acceptability and performance. We conducted a systematic search in OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE (OVID), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and PsycInfo (EBSCO) for articles published from inception of the database through February 2023. We included primary quantitative and qualitative studies on the validation of the EPDS in the United States and identified 880 articles of which 9 met criteria for inclusion. We extracted data related to aim, study population, setting, methods, outcomes, and key findings from each study into a table based on Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Scoping Review Guidelines. We found no evidence that the original wording of the EPDS, which was developed in the United Kingdom, was adapted before validation in the United States. Our findings suggest that adaptation of the EPDS for use in the United States with a focus on contextual equivalence and validity could improve the performance of the tool and patients' experiences with completing the tool. Future research is warranted on optimal methods to adapt the EPDS for mental health screening in the perinatal period in the United States.