This K23 Award will allow the candidate to gain the skills and depth of knowledge required to become a leader in women's health with focused expertise in postpartum depression research and to address this critical problem through an approach that integrates clinical and public health perspectives. Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious public health problem affecting 10-20% of American women. PPD has significant repercussions for the health and functioning of mothers and the welfare of their children. It remains a poorly detected disorder by both women and their clinicians, in part due to its inadequate clinical characterization. Consequently, effective detection strategies have yet to be developed. The proposed research addresses these issues by 1) characterizing the mood disorders, depressive symptomatology and co-morbid psychiatric disorders throughout the postpartum year, 2) identifying effective screening tools for its detection, 3) establishing the feasibility of conducting a prospective longitudinal study of women during the postpartum year, and 4) collecting pilot data to describe the natural course and clinical correlates of PPD. To facilitate the application of this research to clinical settings, it will be conducted in the context of pediatric outpatient services where mothers are seen regularly throughout the postpartum year. Because an even greater paucity of data exists about PPD in ethnic and minority populations, this project focuses on a primarily African-American population of young women. To achieve her research and career goals, the candidate will follow a career development plan that consists of: 1) academic coursework to further develop general and health services research skills and to enhance her knowledge of early life development, parent-child interactions, and health systems; 2) mentorship and consultation with nationally and internationally recognized experts in postpartum depression, maternal and child health, and pediatric health services research; 3) innovative research of postpartum depression in a pediatric clinic. PPD is a disorder that cuts across traditional discipline boundaries of epidemiology, psychiatry, women's health, pediatrics and public health. An integrated model can provide a greater contribution to the detection and prevention of PPD than any individual discipline can provide independently. The candidate and this research project will lead to the creation of such a model.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter