Perinatal depression screening using smartphone technology: Exploring uptake, engagement and future directions for the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale (MGHPDS)

Abstract

Women may experience new-onset or worsening depressive disorders during pregnancy and the postpartum. If untreated, there may be detrimental consequences to the health and wellbeing of the woman and to her baby. There is a need for improved tools and approaches that can be easily and broadly implemented to effectively detect depression during the perinatal period. Early identification of depression during pregnancy is an important first step towards connecting women to treatment and preventing continued depression into the postpartum or beyond. This report provides preliminary findings from a pilot study of a digital screening app for perinatal depression expiring potential for app reach, engagement, and user demographics and mental health symptoms. With mainly passive recruitment efforts, we collected cross-sectional mental health data on over 700 women during the perinatal period, including women across over 30 countries. We report on mean depression scores among women during pregnancy and the postpartum as well as on constructs that are commonly comorbid with depression, including anxiety, sleep dysregulation, and perceived stress. Over half of the women during pregnancy and over 70% of women in the postpartum had a depression score indicative of clinical depression. Future research directions for this work and potential for public health impact are discussed, including longitudinal data collection and analyses of symptomology over time and embedding evidence-based digital therapeutics into the app as a means to increase access to mental health services.

The Efficacy of Digital Cognitive–Behavioral Interventions in Supporting the Psychological Adjustment and Sleep Quality of Pregnant Women with Sub-Clinical Symptoms: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…A further evaluation of the available literature highlighted that studies investigating the efficacy of CBTs and third-generation CBTs have greatly focused on women in the postpartum period [ 47 , 48 ] or on the broader perinatal period (i.e., both ante- and postnatal) [ 49 ]. Moreover, these studies were based either on specific intervention protocols (e.g., traditional CBTs) [ 41 , 42 ] or conversely included psychological interventions at large [ 50 , 51 ], despite their specific theoretical background.…”

Women with perinatal suicidal ideation–A scoping review of the biopsychosocial risk factors to inform health service provision and research

“…Therefore, in most instances enquiry into maternal mental health may be initiated using the Whooley questions [ 92 ], a practice supported by best-practice guidelines [ 93 ]. There are also promising results on the use of digital applications such as the MGH Perinatal Depression Scale (MGHPDS) which collects self-report data on relevant risk factors such as mood, anxiety, sleep and stress and may help to increase the identification of perinatal mental ill-health and subsequent access to mental health services [ 94 ]. This, in addition to inter-disciplinary working with colleagues in mental health would help to ensure adequate assessment, interpretation and interventions are planned to support women experiencing mood and mental health problems during the perinatal period and to mitigate any risk associated with mental ill-health during the perinatal period.…”