Translation and Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for Eritrea: A Screening Tool for Postpartum...

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a mood disorder characterized by symptoms such as changes in sleep and eating patterns, fatigue, sadness, crying, anxiety, and guilt. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was developed to be used as a self-report questionnaire for English-speaking populations to screen for postnatal depression. This study aims to translate, validate, and adapt the EPDS into Eritrean settings.

This study employed a cross-sectional study design to evaluate the performance of the EPDS as a screening tool by using a sample of 380 mothers from four primary healthcare facilities. The standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders was used as a criterion to assess depression in postpartum women.

Postpartum depression was identified in 28 (7.4%) of the mothers based on the standard Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The translated Tigrinya version EPDS has good internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha of 0.712. The exploratory factor analysis identified three factors, confirming the EPDS's multidimensionality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.87, and optimal sensitivity and specificity combination was found at 10/11 score cut-off points, 85.7% and 88%, respectively.

The Eritrean version of EPDS has proven to be a valid and reliable instrument for the identification of postpartum depression in clinical settings.