Is trainer training an effective method for disseminating evidence-based practice for postnatal depression?

Abstract

Postnatal depression is a common problem for women and for their families. Research has provided the evidence for successful early intervention programmes. If this research is now going to benefit more women, researchers must be involved in dissemination beyond journal publication. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of dissemination via trainer training, in particular to answer three questions: 1) Do the teams of mental health and primary care professionals actually provide training to health visitors and others? 2) Do the health visitors then adopt protocols consistent with the evidence-based recommendations in training? 3) Can barriers to implementation be identified?

Seventy-three of the 113 respondents had run training and a further 24 had provided some form of education on postnatal depression. The trainers reported systems chosen by trainees that were in line with the available evidence. Barriers to training included the loss of a team member due to job changes, and lack of management support for the provision of time and resources. Eleven teams had audited services after training. The National Screening Committee now recommends that all local implementations of screening for postnatal depression should be embedded in the research process to ensure that women are helped not harmed. The importance of the support of specialist local trainers in this process has not been properly addressed or the impact on effectiveness evaluated in an RCT.