From Early Recognition to Evaluation: Implementing Perinatal Mental Health Nursing Care Plans

This is an archive of a past event.

To support public health nurses to identify and respond to maternal mental health issues in the perinatal period, five evidence-informed nursing care plans have been developed to inform practice. Following the nursing process, these care plans provide guidance for early recognition, assessment, formulating nursing diagnoses, planning, implementation, and evaluation for: anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, perinatal psychosis, and homicidal ideation. Using the anxiety care plan as an example, strategies for integrating the care plans into home visitation practice will be highlighted. 

​​By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

1. ​Understand the overarching framework developed to guide public health nursing practice with respect to perinatal mental health and the corresponding detailed care plans for anxiety, depression, risk for self harm/harm to others and psychosis.  

2. Understand how the care plans can help to structure nursing care in home visiting services and guide nursing practice in the early recognition, assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation components of the nursing process in response to mental health concerns in the perinatal period.

3. ​Describe how to apply the nursing care plan specific to “anxiety” to guide nursing practice.​ 

Presenter(s)

Christina Bradley is a Registered Nurse, Lactation Consultant and Public Health Nurse with Niagara Region Public Health & Emergency Services with over 25 years of experience and has developed expertise in perinatal mental health, family health and health promotion.  

Christina is the Co-Chair of the Working Group established to develop public health nurse care plans and guidance to recognize, assess and respond to perinatal mental health concerns among individuals enrolled in Healthy Babies, Healthy Children and Nurse-Family Partnership programs.