Adaptations for inclusive, accessible and effective screening.
Screening for fathers and non-birthing partners
iCOPE 2.0 has now been adapted for fathers, birthing partners, and those having children via surrogacy and adoption.
In line with the National Guideline, lower cut-off scores, advice and referral pathways are integrated to ensure an inclusive approach to perinatal mental health screening.
Language and cultural diversity
The iCOPE digital screening platform is currently available in 33 languages, increasing accessibility and enabling patients to undertake the screen and receive their personal report in their preferred language. This also helps increase screening accuracy and minimise the need for translators.
Availability languages and cultural adaptions include:
- Arabic
- Burmese
- Cantonese
- Central Khmer
- Chin Hakka
- Chinese (simplified)
- Chinese (traditional)
- Dari
- Dinka
- English
- French
- Hazaragi
- Hindi
- Indonesian
- Japanese
- Karen
- Khmer
- Korean
- Malay
- Mandarin
- Nepali
- Oromo
- Panjabi – Punjabi
- Persian/Farsi
- Pushto – Pashto
- Samoan
- Somali
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Thai
- Turkish
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
With the provision of Commonwealth Funding, additional languages will continue to be added to the platform.
Future language updates and audio versions of screening
It is intended that additional languages will be added to the Platform to further support the inclusivity of screening across cultural groups. Audio versions of the screening will also be developed. This will enable those with low literacy to be able to undertake screening in their own language, with the aid of audio prompts. This will further serve to keep the screening experience private and confidential for the user, and encourage reflection and disclosure.
To date, iCOPE has been shown to be highly effective and feasible for screening women, including those of refugee and migrant backgrounds. Here, screening using the iCOPE Platform was seen to provide women with more privacy and contributed to more truthful responses from women when using the tool on their own.
Adaptation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women
There are currently two mental health screening tools that have been developed specifically for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and men in the perinatal period. They include:
- Mt Isa Postnatal Depressions Scale
- Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale (KMMS)
The KMMS and Mt Isa Postnatal Depression Scale screening tools are fully integrated into iCOPE, and available to health services across the country via the iCOPE program.
Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale (KMMS)
The Kimberley Mum’s Mood Scale (KMMS), is a two-part screen, specifically designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the perinatal period. The screen is delivered by the healthcare professional in a conversational setting. Results from the Kimberly Mum’s Mood Scale implementation project found that Aboriginal women consistently reported that it was important to have someone to talk to.
Part one of the screen mirrors the EPDS, using language and graphics as determined through the Kimberley consultation. Part two of the screen contains a psychosocial component which involves talking or yarning to explore important psychosocial protective and risk factors.
Mt Isa Postnatal Depression Scale
The Mt Isa Postnatal Depression Scale was developed and validated under the National Perinatal Depression Initiative for use with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. The Scale mirrors the EPDS, using language identified to be more culturally appropriate for First Nations peoples. The psychosocial risk factors are then explored using the traditional ANRQ questions delivered by the iCOPE screening tool.