Pivots and Partnerships: Successes, Challenges, and Lessons Learned From Conducting Research During a Global Pandemic.

While the importance of including vulnerable populations in research is widely acknowledged, the differential effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable populations necessitated thoughtful participant recruitment. This research note describes one team's attempt at conducting a longitudinal, mixed-methods study during the COVID-19 pandemic with women in the perinatal period who had experienced intimate partner violence. Initial recruitment strategies are provided, as well as the ways in which those initial efforts necessitated revision and redesign. Lessons learned are offered, including ways these strategies may be adapted for other similarly vulnerable populations in the context of a community-level trauma.

Factors Related to Providers Screening Children for Behavioral Health Risks in Primary Care Settings.

PURPOSE: To provide information from a large sample of pediatric and family medicine primary care providers on practices in screening children for behavioral health risks. DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were a sample of physicians (n=319) and nurse practitioners (n=292) from across the U.S. who completed a confidential online survey about screening practices through a computer-assisted self-interview. RESULTS: Almost all respondents (89%) reported screening children for depression/anxiety and behavior problems. Child substance use (82%), family social support (74%), significant household changes (73%), bullying (72%), child abuse (62%) and domestic violence (52%) were also asked about regularly, although with high rates of informal screening methods. Caregiver mental health (49%), caregiver substance use (35%), family financial strain (33%) and transportation difficulties (27%) were screened less frequently. Screening was associated with higher rates of referral for risk-related problems, and was more likely when providers reported greater confidence providing support to clients, perceived community resource availability as higher, and worked in systems with integrated primary care and behavioral health. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest a great amount of diversity in how providers screen for behavioral health risks. There is reluctance to screen when options for addressing the problems are seen as limited. Research is needed to better guide healthcare providers in determining the right context and methods for screening social risks. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Protocols for screening adverse childhood events (ACES) and other social risk factors should be accompanied by adequate training and efforts to improve community resource and support networks.

Couples' Experiences of Maternal Postpartum Depression.

OBJECTIVE: To understand the processes that couples navigate as they cope with maternal postpartum depression (PPD) in early parenthood. DESIGN: Qualitative, interpretive phenomenological study. SETTING: Community setting in the western United States. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 10 couples (N = 20, 10 mothers and 10 fathers) who indicated they had maternal diagnoses of PPD after the births of their first children within the last 3 years. METHODS: Couples were interviewed together and then individually with the use of a semistructured interview guide. Narrative and thematic analyses were used to understand couples' lived experiences of PPD. RESULTS: Participants cocreated their experiences of maternal PPD. Three primary phases in the pattern of coping with PPD were identified: Dismissal (couples attempted to normalize their experiences and protect the mother from judgment), Acknowledgment (couples revealed their concerns, the first step in the process of seeking help), and Accommodation (process of trial and error used to find a way to meet the needs of the mother). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that practitioners must support the needs of the entire family, including fathers, when mothers have a diagnosis of PPD. Fathers support mothers during this difficult experience but not without an increased burden of stress to themselves.