Evidence-Based Guidance for Culturally Sensitive Assessment and Interventions for Perinatal Depression in Black American Women

Purpose: This article provides a review of published evidence-based guidance about culturally sensitive assessment and treatment intervention strategies addressing perinatal depression in black American women. Culturally sensitive approaches focus more on the woman’s environment than on her race and thus may improve access to treatment for perinatal depression by increasing health literacy. Methods: The authors abstracted evidence-based guidance from articles published between November 2005 and September 2011, including only articles specifically analyzing a discrete sample of black American women during pregnancy or within 6 months postpartum. They also examined research on unique cultural characteristics of black American women. To obtain relevant studies, the authors searched for research literature indexed in PubMed, using key terms associated with 2 systematic reviews of prevalence and risk factors for perinatal depression and additional keywords as used in the articles found. They abstracted the focus, design and methods, population, and results for each article in a table; discussed the findings; and suggested assessment and intervention strategies based on the studies’ results. Findings: Sixteen articles from 13 journals provide compelling evidence of culture-based risk factors for perinatal depression for black American women and information to guide culturally sensitive assessments and interventions. The literature provides a rich compendium of relevant and useful implications for clinical practice in assessing and addressing depression among pregnant black American women. Conclusions: Primary care providers may want to incorporate culturally sensitive screening questions to early identify and facilitate treatment interventions for depressive symptoms in their pregnant black American patients.