A Novel Web-based Positive Psychology Intervention Addressed to Pregnant Women

Summary

The identification and treatment of the disorders connected to the perinatal period has traditionally catalyzed the researchers' attention. Nevertheless, since the World Health Organization has recently coined the concept of positive pregnancy experience, which includes not only treatment of diseases, but also health education, and health promotion, research on antenatal care has expanded to a salutogenic perspective. In the wake of this perspective, a growing number of research have been examining the potential benefits of positive aspects and protective factors on maternal prenatal well-bein. This salutogenic perspective is supported by the emerging field of Positive Psychology. Evidence from Positive Psychology studies has shown that it is possible to build and enhance personal strengths, sense of meaning and positive feelings by practicing some brief positive exercises, called Positive Psychology Interventions (PPIs). Recently, researchers have started to investigate the effects of a PPI on women's prenatal well-being, reporting promising findings in terms of potential direct effects of the positive intervention on women's prenatal stress in comparison to a treatment-as-usual control condition. In the past decade, many web-based delivered interventions have been designed and documented to be effective for the promotion of mental health and for the prevention and treatment of different disorders. Indeed, recent systematic reviews provides preliminary evidence that web-based interventions can be a promising and advisable form of intervention during the perinatal period. PPIs have been translated also in the online format. Preliminary evidence suggests that online positive psychology interventions can effectively enhance well-being and reduce depressive symptoms.

The research team have developed the protocol for a web-based positive psychology programme addressed to promote and enhance women's prenatal well-being. This intervention programme will last five weeks and will be completely self-administered. It is intend to study the effect of the intervention on levels of mental well-being, depression, pregnancy related anxiety and other relevant variables, and the results will be compared to a waiting list control group.

Conditions

• Pregnancy
• Mental Health Wellness 1

Interventions

OTHER

"Embarazo y Bienestar"

The intervention programme is called "Embarazo y Bienestar" ("Pregnancy and Well-being"). Embarazo y Bienestar is a modular, self-placed program mainly designed to foster women's prenatal well-being by practicing some positive psychology-based exercises. The intervention programme consist of four modules of intervention, one welcome module, and a final resume page.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Twente

  collaborator OTHER

• Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Valencia

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Rosa Maria Baños, PhD · University of Valencia

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

11 Years

Max Age

45 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-06-30

Primary Completion

2020-09-30

Completion

2020-12-31

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations