Implementation of a clinical decision support tool for postpartum depression: protocol for a prospective randomised...

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect more than one in five pregnant individuals. Despite the large percentage of individuals impacted by mood disorders, they continue to remain underdiagnosed and undertreated. Recent interventions such as risk prediction modelling offer opportunities to predict patients at risk prior to symptom onset. Leveraging technology platforms such as electronic health records allow for timely diagnosis and intervention. To date, there are no established clinical decision support (CDS) tools. We hypothesise that subjects who use a CDS aid will find them acceptable, appropriate and feasible.

We will conduct a pilot randomised clinical trial at three Weill Cornell Medicine clinics with randomisation at the clinician level. Patients in the control arm will receive usual care, while those in the intervention arm will receive CDS. The primary implementation outcomes are the acceptability, appropriateness and feasibility. The effectiveness outcomes are mental health service utilisation, EuroQol 5 Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and social support measured by the perceived support scale. We hypothesise that stakeholders will find the CDS acceptable, and the intervention arm will have lower mental health service needs compared with control.

This study has been approved by the Weill Cornell Medicine Internal Review Board. IRB Protocol# 23-07026254.

NCT06818734.