Awareness, Attitudes and Self-Reported Practices Regarding Perinatal Mental Health and Depression Screening Among Healthcare Professionals in Serbia: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

Background: Mood disorders, especially perinatal depression (PND), are a major public health concern, yet in Serbia there are no standardized screening protocols and limited data on healthcare professionals’ preparedness to recognize and manage it. Aims: To explore awareness, attitudes toward screening, self-reported familiarity, and self-reported clinical practices regarding PND among healthcare professionals in Serbia. Method: A cross-sectional, anonymous online survey was conducted in a convenience sample of 221 healthcare professionals (gynecology/obstetrics, pediatrics, psychiatry, midwifery, and community nursing) from two urban centers (Belgrade and Niš). A de novo 23-item survey was used. Group differences were tested with Fisher’s exact tests, and associations with demographic and professional characteristics were examined with penalized (Firth) logistic and ordinal regression models with psychiatry as reference category; p-values were Holm-adjusted within each family of tests. Results: Most respondents recognized pregnancy (85.5%) and the postpartum period (93.7%) as periods of increased risk for mental disorders and supported routine screening (91.0%). However, self-reported awareness of guidelines, screening timeframes, and diagnostic criteria was limited, particularly among non-psychiatric professionals. In multivariable analyses using psychiatry as the reference category, respondents working in gynecology/obstetrics had significantly lower odds of reporting awareness of national guidelines (OR = 0.120, 95% CI 0.038–0.327), international guidelines (OR = 0.176, 95% CI 0.044–0.575), recommended screening timeframes (OR = 0.053, 95% CI 0.007–0.237), and institutional clinical pathways (OR = 0.047, 95% CI 0.005–0.235). Respondents working in pediatrics also had lower odds of reporting awareness of national guidelines (OR = 0.121, 95% CI 0.043–0.297) and screening timeframes (OR = 0.032, 95% CI 0.005–0.132). Both non-psychiatric groups had higher odds of reporting poorer familiarity with ICD-10 diagnostic criteria and choosing referral to a psychiatrist rather than initiating screening themselves in the clinical vignette. All reported associations remained significant after Holm correction. Conclusions: In this convenience sample, gaps in self-reported familiarity, screening practices, and perceived institutional organization were evident, particularly outside psychiatry. Although the findings cannot be extrapolated to the national level without caution, they suggest that integrating routine screening into maternal care, targeted training, and updated national guidelines could improve the early detection and care of PND.