Attitudes of Multidisciplinary Teams to the Introduction of the Edinburg Depression Scale - Research Proposal Example

Attitudes of Multidisciplinary Teams to the Introduction of the Edinburg Depression Scale 1. Research Problem Depression within the pregnant population is a common problem, one that has adverse effects for both the mother and child. In the modern world where healthcare delivery is moving towards a disciplinary team structure, the attitudes of the team to the use of scales to measure depression is important to the outcome. In Saudi Arabia, little research has been done on such attitudes, or how they affect the eventual measurement of depression. 2. Statement of Purpose Any depression that is left untreated during pregnancy is likely to have adverse effects on the health of the mother and child (Bergink, et al., 2011, 385). This is why depression screening is one of the highly recommended interventions for the general pregnant population. This is especially true considering the fact that being young and female is two of the most common risk factors for depression (Lewinsohn et, al., 1993, 110). The Edinburg Depression Scale (EDS) remains one of the more popular scales used for screening of post-partum depression. However, even though it is popular, its effective use has to happen within the larger context of the healthcare system. The modern healthcare system has grown to be very fragmented and complex, with the patient being centered and healthcare practitioners concerned more with such metrics as patient satisfaction and the efficiency of the healthcare system. Information and communication technologies, as well as innovative techniques for gathering data like the EDS fit right into this. Advances in information technology play an important role in the improvement of quality in the overall global healthcare sector all across the globe (Alkadi, 2016, 19). In Saudi Arabia, such technologically inspired improvements within the healthcare sector have generally improved the quality of outcomes. The healthcare system has experienced various benefits, including reductions in error rates and the standardization of quality between Saudi Arabia and other countries. However, it is important to note that any new system will always be challenging, and this complexity is likely to affect how these systems are taken up by the healthcare teams (Alkadi, 2016, 21). One of the reasons identified for the slow uptake of (relatively) new techniques especially within healthcare teams is the attitude. Even though healthcare practitioners generally understand the usefulness of such techniques as the EDS, research shows that because of various factors, attitudes towards the use of such scales might vary. In related research, it has been shown that even though practitioners understood the importance of interventions, they did not express personal opinions about the usefulness of these technologies, denoting the possibility of poor attitudes towards them (Sinha & Shetty, 2015, 89). The issue of attitude is especially important in an interdisciplinary team setting, where attitudes towards such interventions might end up affecting attitudes towards working together with each other, eventually getting in the way of the effectiveness of the team. In Saudi Arabia, even though a lot of research has happened in the field of attitudes of healthcare practitioners, of patients and teams towards each other and their work, little has been done directly on the attitudes towards the introduction of EDS, especially in multi-disciplinary teams. Given the importance of healthcare provider attitudes to healthcare outcomes, it is important to look into attitudes of the use of EDS is to be fully embraced. This is especially true considering the fact that very few studies have even attempted to investigate the prevalence of post-partum depression among Saudi women or the risk factors in the culture (Al-Modayfer et. al., 2015, 316). This paper therefore fills an important research gap both with regards to the use of EDS in the measurement of depression, and the overall topic of depression among the pregnant population in Saudi Arabia. The healthcare system in Saudi Arabia would benefit from such a research project and its focus on Post-partum depression. 3. Research Questions The paper aims to fill this research gap by answering the following research questions; 1. What are the attitudes of interdisciplinary teams towards the introduction of EDS to postpartum units Saudi Arabian Hospitals? 2. How do these attitudes affect ease of use and healthcare outcomes for patients suffering from post-partum depression? 4. Hypothesis Research shows that in general, healthcare practitioners are less enthusiastic than patients when it comes to the introduction of new technologies or techniques used to improve healthcare outcomes. Several factors are often mentioned when it comes to attitudes and what influences tem within multi-disciplinary teams. Researchers found that the complexity of systems, their general fitness or purpose, and the confidence and experience of the users affect the uptake. Attitudes are important as they often end up affecting the acceptance and efficiency of the use (Ward et. al., 2008, 81). Based on this research, the researcher hypothesizes that negative attitudes towards such tools as the EDS result in negative health outcomes with in the post-partum unit. H1: Negative attitudes towards the EDS result in negative health outcomes within the post-partum unit In Saudi Arabia, knowledge and attitudes are a huge social factor, especially in the healthcare field. Even though it has been identified as one of the most common mental health complications of child birth, surprisingly little research has gone into the investigation of attitudes and their effects. In Saudi Arabia, the culture is unfortunately one that is heavily affected by gender norms. It is more than a matter of culture and the social fabric of society. Instead, gender norms have been known to affect laws, policy, family relations and the operations of family institutions. All these combine to affect healthcare outcomes for women in the country (Aldosari, 2017). The heavily gendered healthcare system is characterized by a differential treatment of women and women’s healthcare issues, both as the providers of healthcare services and the recipients of services. Many healthcare issues affecting women are heavily related to the societies they live in, and manifest in different stages of their lives (Aldosari, 2017). The Saudi Arabian culture is notorious for espousing such attitudes and a culture that is heavily skewed against women. Direct research has shown that there already is a negative attitude towards post-partum depression within the healthcare system. A large percentage of respondents in a research paper process had negative perceptions towards post-partum depression, and rarely ever diagnosed it correctly (Alkhater et. al., 2018). The traction on post-partum depression is a particular case in point. Because of this, the researcher hypothesizes that the attitudes towards the use of EDS in the measurement of post-partum depression are negative. H2: Attitudes towards the use of EDS in the measurement of post-partum depression in Saudi Arabia are negative. 5. Bibliography Read More