BCF: Introduction to Journey to Perinatal Well Being Course
Photo Credit: Unsplash User Aditya Romansa
Journey to Perinatal Well Being is a free online course accessible through the Learning Hub, designed for public health nurses to support capacity to identify and respond to perinatal depression and anxiety. The course has been developed to help build skills and expertise to screen, assess and effectively intervene with families where a parent (or parents) are experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety.
Journey to Perinatal Well Being is designed to:
Build understanding of the four pillars used to address perinatal depression and anxiety (education and prevention, screening and assessment, treatment and self-management, and coping and support) and how to apply them in practice.
Increase knowledge of the latest research and evidence-based practices.
Outline the public health role in supporting mothers and families through the perinatal period as part of a member of an interdisciplinary care team.
The course has been designed to be highly interactive, and to provide easy-to-digest information, using video, quizzes, reflective exercises, and interactive activities to support a variety of learning styles and levels. The lesson modules of the online course can be completed in approximately 4 hours. There are also links to many additional resources incorporated into the course content that provide references to support public health nursing practice. A design feature of the course is that all the links provided can be bookmarked for future reference; it is not necessary to review the resources in their entirety while progressing through the lesson modules.
The course can be completed all at once or in a number of sessions, allowing for self-paced elarning. Upon completion of the course, a Certificate of Completion will be issued. The course also provices access to a suite of Tools and Resources to support ongoing practice, including handouts to use with women and families.
The presenters for the introductory webinar are Sarah Amyot, a policy analyst for the BC Ministry of Health, with a focus on maternal and women`s health, and Carolyn Solomon, Manager for Maternal and Women`s Health at the BC Ministry of Health, and project lead for the development of the course.
Having noted that depression is one of the most common health issues that women experience, and that postpartum depression is the most common complication after childbirth which, untreated, can lead to chronic health issues with serious family health impacts, the BC Ministry of Health has put in place a series of pro-active interventions to address perinatal depression in anxiety in BC, of which the Journey to Perinatal Well Being online course is one piece. The goal of the course is to ensure that public health nurses have the knowledge, skills and confidence required to support early identification, treatment and responsive follow up for women and families experiencing post-natal depression and anxiety.
The course is hosted by PHSA`s Learning Hub (https://learninghub.phsa.ca) and requires setting up a Learning Hub account.
The introductory webinar familiarizes potential students with the layout, sections, and format of the course, including information about how to access the course and a look at sample materials from the different sections of the course. The course includes videos and case studies to assist learning.
Journey to Perinatal Well Being was developed by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with BC Reproductive Mental Health Program, Provincial Health Service Authority and BC Council for Families, Pacific Post Partum Support Society and all health authorities in BC.