Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

LIVE: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)
Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Current Psychiatry Reports
Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports 11/2023

02-10-2023 | Postpartum Depression

Digital Tools in the Service of Peer and Social Support for Perinatal Mental Health

Author: Amit Baumel

Published in: Current Psychiatry Reports | Issue 11/2023

Login to get access

Abstract

Purpose of Review

This study is critically evaluating the current status of digital tools for perinatal mental health, specifically focusing on how these tools can enhance peer and social support.

Recent Findings

Digital tools could be used to: (1) identify individuals in need and guide them towards appropriate human-supportive care; (2) autonomously train and allocate peers to aid women experiencing perinatal mental health challenges; and (3) amplify support from their natural social network. Despite clear evidence supporting the significance of social support for perinatal mental health, there is a dearth of studies on digital tools aimed at boosting such support, leaving a gap in the evidence.

Summary

Findings underscore the necessity of developing digital initiatives that explicitly aim to augment social support as an active ingredient of therapeutic change for women’s perinatal mental health. To establish clear evidence of digital tools’ value in providing digital peer-support, further development and research are indispensable.
Literature
1.
2.
3.
Baumel A, Baker J, Birnbaum ML, Christensen H, De Choudhury M, Mohr DC, et al. Summary of key issues raised in the Technology for Early Awareness of Addiction and Mental Illness (TEAAM-I) meeting. Psychiatr Serv. 2018;69(5):590–2.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Walker LO, Im E-O, Vaughan MW. New mothers’ interest in web-based health promotion: association with healthcare barriers, risk status, and user characteristics. Telemedicine and e-Health. 2012;18(10):785–90.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Emerson E, Fortune N, Llewellyn G, Stancliffe R. Loneliness, social support, social isolation and wellbeing among working age adults with and without disability: cross-sectional study. Disabil Health J. 2021;14(1): 100965.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Barrera M Jr, Ainlay SL. The structure of social support: a conceptual and empirical analysis. J Community Psychol. 1983;11(2):133–43.CrossRefPubMed
7.
8.
George LK, Blazer DG, Hughes DC, Fowler N. Social support and the outcome of major depression. Br J Psychiatry. 1989;154(4):478–85.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Hagerty BM, Williams A. The effects of sense of belonging, social support, conflict, and loneliness on depression. Nurs Res. 1999;48(4):215–9.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Bost KK, Cox MJ, Burchinal MR, Payne C. Structural and supportive changes in couples’ family and friendship networks across the transition to parenthood. J Marriage Fam. 2002;64(2):517–31.CrossRef
11.
Taylor BL, Howard LM, Jackson K, Johnson S, Mantovani N, Nath S, et al. Mums alone: exploring the role of isolation and loneliness in the narratives of women diagnosed with perinatal depression. J Clin Med. 2021;10(11):2271.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
12.
•• Adlington K, Vasquez C, Pearce E, Wilson CA, Nowland R, Taylor BL, et al. ‘Just snap out of it’–the experience of loneliness in women with perinatal depression: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies. BMC Psychiatry. 2023;23(1):110. This paper presents the link associating experience of loneliness with sense of social support.
13.
Taylor BL, Nath S, Sokolova AY, Lewis G, Howard LM, Johnson S, et al. The relationship between social support in pregnancy and postnatal depression. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2022;57(7):1435–44.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
14.
Leahy-Warren P, McCarthy G, Corcoran P. Postnatal depression in first-time mothers: prevalence and relationships between functional and structural social support at 6 and 12 weeks postpartum. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2011;25(3):174–84.CrossRefPubMed
15.
Li L, Yue SW, Xu J, Qiao J, Redding SR, Ouyang YQ. Effectiveness of Internet‐based psychological interventions for treating perinatal depression: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. J Clin Nurs. 2022.
16.
• Martin-Key NA, Spadaro B, Schei TS, Bahn S. Proof-Of-Concept support for the development and implementation of a digital assessment for perinatal mental health: mixed methods study. J Med Internet Res. 2021;23(6):e27132. The study shows that women and their partners express an interest in using a digital mental health assessment for screening and referral to human-led services.
17.
• Spadaro B, Martin-Key NA, Funnell E, Bahn S. mHealth solutions for perinatal mental health: scoping review and appraisal following the mHealth index and navigation database framework. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2022;10(1):e30724. The paper reviews avaiable digital assessments apps, wjocj measures they are using, and whether they also refer users to relevant services.
18.
Birnbaum ML, Rizvi AF, Correll CU, Kane JM. Role of social media and the Internet in pathways to care for adolescents and young adults with psychotic disorders and non-psychotic mood disorders. Early Interv Psychiatry. 2015.
19.
Nolan S, Hendricks J, Towell A. Social networking sites (SNS); exploring their uses and associated value for adolescent mothers in Western Australia in terms of social support provision and building social capital. Midwifery. 2015;31(9):912–9.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Asiodu IV, Waters CM, Dailey DE, Lee KA, Lyndon A. Breastfeeding and use of social media among first-time African American mothers. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2015;44(2):268–78.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
21.
Niela-Vilén H, Axelin A, Salanterä S, Melender H-L. Internet-based peer support for parents: a systematic integrative review. Int J Nurs Stud. 2014;51(11):1524–37.CrossRefPubMed
22.
• Evans M, Donelle L, Hume-Loveland L. Social support and online postpartum depression discussion groups: a content analysis. Patient Educ Couns. 2012;87(3):405–10. This paper examines the advantages of women participating in online discussion groups focused on PPD. The findings indicate that these groups provide a secure environment for connecting with others and acquiring information, encouragement, and optimism.
23.
Shorey S, Chee CYI, Ng ED, Lau Y, Dennis C-L, Chan YH. Evaluation of a technology-based peer-support intervention program for preventing postnatal depression (part 1): randomized controlled trial. J Med Internet Res. 2019;21(8): e12410.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
24.
Letourneau N, Secco L, Colpitts J, Aldous S, Stewart M, Dennis CL. Quasi-experimental evaluation of a telephone-based peer support intervention for maternal depression. J Adv Nurs. 2015;71(7):1587–99.CrossRefPubMed
25.
• Baumel A, Tinkelman A, Mathur N, Kane JM. Digital peer-support platform (7Cups) as an adjunct treatment for women with postpartum depression: feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 2018;6(2):e38. This paper presents a digital peer support intervention with automated training for peers who define themselves as past survivors. The support provided was solely chat-based. This approach effectively reduced the costs and administrative burdens typically associated with providing and supervising the quality of peer support.
26.
•• Liu C, Chen H, Zhou F, Long Q, Wu K, Lo L-M, et al. Positive intervention effect of mobile health application based on mindfulness and social support theory on postpartum depression symptoms of puerperae. BMC Womens Health. 2022;22(1):413. The study examined the effects of a mobile health application provided to women just before giving birth. The mobile application aimed at also enhancing perceived social support from family members and friends by allowing the women's social network to view their expectations and respond accordingly.
27.
Baumel A, Faber K, Mathur N, Kane JM, Muench F. Enlight: a comprehensive quality and therapeutic potential evaluation tool for mobile and web-based eHealth interventions. J Med Internet Res. 2017;19(3): e82.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
28.
Metadata
Title
Digital Tools in the Service of Peer and Social Support for Perinatal Mental Health
Author
Amit Baumel
Publication date
02-10-2023
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current Psychiatry Reports / Issue 11/2023
Print ISSN: 1523-3812
Electronic ISSN: 1535-1645
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-023-01464-2

Other articles of this Issue 11/2023

Current Psychiatry Reports 11/2023 Go to the issue

ReviewPaper

Disorganized Communication and Social Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Emerging Concepts and Methods

ReviewPaper

Youth Suicidality in the Context of Disasters

ReviewPaper

Digital Phenotyping in Adults with Schizophrenia: A Narrative Review

ReviewPaper

The Co-occurrence of Personality Disorders and Substance Use Disorders

ReviewPaper

Recent Updates on Predicting Conversion in Youth at Clinical High Risk for Psychosis

ReviewPaper

The Role of Peer Providers to Scale Up Psychological Treatments for Perinatal Populations Worldwide