A technology-enabled service added to perinatal mental health collaborative care was associated with greater early patient engagement, according to a study recently published in Pregnancy.
The findings may be especially relevant for women navigating complex perinatal conditions, such as fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT), which can increase stress, cause mood changes and introduce a need for ongoing mental health support after delivery.
Consistent follow-up, however, can be difficult when mothers are caring for a newborn, recovering physically and managing the demands of postpartum life.
The trial included 75 pregnant or postpartum individuals with depression or anxiety symptoms across five obstetric clinics in Illinois. Participants received typical perinatal collaborative care with or without a technology-enabled service that included a mobile app, text-based coaching and a care manager dashboard.
Although the technology-enabled service did not improve depression or anxiety symptoms over 12 weeks, it was associated with higher engagement at six weeks, suggesting that digital tools may help strengthen early participation in perinatal mental health care. The authors noted that the modest sample size and single-center design may have limited the study’s ability to detect smaller differences between groups.
For depression, 53% of participants using the digital service had meaningful symptom improvement, compared with 43% of those receiving usual care, but the difference was not statistically significant. Depression symptoms fell to very low levels in 32% and 46%, respectively.
For anxiety, meaningful symptom improvement occurred in 55% of participants using the digital service and 35% of those receiving usual care, but this difference also was not statistically significant. Anxiety symptoms fell to very low levels in 32% of participants in both groups.
Read more about coping with postpartum anxiety in FNAIT
Patient satisfaction remained similar in both groups throughout follow-up, suggesting that adding the digital service did not appear to change how satisfied participants were with their care. By 12 weeks, the early engagement difference was no longer statistically significant.
The researchers noted a decline in app use over time, which underscored the difficulty of sustaining engagement. Specifically, the data showed that average app usage dropped from approximately 20 days during the first six weeks to only 11 days during the final six weeks of the study.
Despite this drop, the authors suggested that digital tools may have a role in making collaborative care easier to deliver. “Thoughtfully integrated digital tools may enhance the efficiency and scalability of collaborative care delivery without compromising clinical effectiveness,” they concluded.
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