Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Project

College/School

College of Nursing

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Project Mentor

Therry Eparwa

Readers

Emily Whinkin

Abstract

Postpartum mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are a distinctive subset of psychiatric disorders that can have serious consequences for the birthing person and child if not effectively treated. Current treatment options for PMADs can take several weeks to achieve efficacy or are difficult to access. Although literature on ketamine has been focused on preventing PMADs, ketamine is an emerging treatment option for various psychiatric disorders and is starting to show promise in treating PMADs. This project utilized content and thematic analysis to examine electronic medical records (EMRs) of individuals with PMADs at the AIMS Institute to determine benefits of those who received ketamine vs. treatment as usual. Out of five total participants, the majority (n = 4, 80%) had received ketamine while experiencing PMADs. Benefits of participants who received ketamine showed three predominant coded categories: general improvement in mental health symptoms, increased psychosocial self-awareness, and improvement of feelings of self-worth and self-efficacy. This study provides a precedent for the benefit of ketamine treatment in PMADs.

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