Development of a standard for psychosocial stress screenings in maternity clinics in Germany

Abstract

Background Psychological problems can often be traced back to the influence of stress in early childhood. An accumulation of such stress factors can have a lasting negative impact on the parent-child relationship and, in extreme cases, lead to child maltreatment. Screening procedures based on the assessment of psychosocial risk factors can help to identify the risk group of stressed families so that they can be referred to support services in the early interventions system. This thesis’s overall objective was to determine the intersection of the most used psychosocial stress screening for identifying psychosocial burdened families in maternity clinics in Germany, and to create a prototype of a psychosocial stress screening as minimum standard. Methodology An expert committee for psychosocial stress screening in maternity clinics was formed. The n=6 most important screening questionnaires in Germany were analyzed according to their used items and their wording. The standard was developed using multi-stage, partially web-based expert surveys. A modified Delphi strategy was used to reach consensus about the items and their wording within the expert committee. Results A standard for psychosocial stress screening in maternity clinics was created, according to the results of the online survey and the modified Delphi strategy. Additionally, a fill-in assistance for the clinical staff performing the screenings was developed to provide additional support and quality assurance. Conclusion The developed psychosocial screening questionnaire and fill-in assistance will be published by the National Centre on Early Prevention. Furthermore, training courses are also being prepared for the clinical staff who conduct the screening in practice with the burdened families. In the future, the newly developed screening instrument should be disseminated to the professional community and should be tested for its psychometric properties in empirical studies.