Integrating Text Messages Into the Mothers and Babies Course

Summary

This project is aimed at enhancing the effectiveness and scalability of the Mothers and Babies 1-on-1 Course (MB) among home visiting programs. MB is a manualized 12-session postpartum depression prevention intervention guided by cognitive-behavioral therapy and attachment theory. Each session lasts 15-20 minutes and is delivered as part of a regularly scheduled home visit. Previous MB trials suggest that the intervention is less successful for women who exhibit smaller changes in hypothesized intervention mechanisms and less fully engaged in completion of personal projects. This study will determine the feasibility and acceptability of conducting MB-TXT, in which home visiting clients receive MB supplemented by a series of weekly text messages focused on skill reinforcement, personal project reminders, and self-monitoring of depressive symptoms. The investigators will also calculate a preliminary effect size that could be used to calculate sample size necessary for a future fully powered randomized controlled trial that examines MB-TXT efficacy. The investigators will use a stepped wedge design-a form of randomized controlled trial that involves sequential, but random, roll-out of the intervention over multiple time periods. The investigators have created two HV program clusters. Both clusters will initially implement MB 1-on-1 and will recruit MB participants for one quarter (i.e., three months) before crossing over to recruit MB-TXT participants for one quarter. MB-TXT's core curriculum is identical to MB 1-on-1 and adds a series of text messages throughout the curriculum. Feasibility and acceptability data will be collected from clients and home visitors to assess percentages of received text messages, home visitor adherence to sending texts at specified intervals, and clients' perceptions of text message utility and clarity. If the investigators are able to integrate MB-TXT and home visiting programs and generate improved mental health outcomes for clients, the investigators will be prepared to replicate this intervention across home visiting programs nationally at a time when home visiting as a service delivery model is rapidly proliferating via federal Maternal Infant and and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) program funding.

Conditions

• Perinatal Depression
• Postpartum Depression

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mothers and Babies 1-on-1

MB 1-on-1 is a 12-session intervention divided into five modules. An introductory 2-session module establishes key concepts related to stress, monitoring of one's mood, and ways in which one's mood influences one's internal thoughts and external environment; three 3-session modules correspond with key cognitive-behavioral elements: pleasant activities, thoughts, and social support/contact with others; a 1-session summary reviews content and identifies areas for future use of MB skills. Throughout MB, mood management skills are integrated using psycho-educational activities that encourage participants to understand connections between their mood and their activities, thoughts, and contacts with others.

BEHAVIORAL

Mothers and Babies Plus Text

MB 1-on-1 along with text enhancements, both in English and Spanish. These texts focus on: a) skill reinforcement (e.g., Some thoughts just come to us, but we can make a conscious effort to think of positive thoughts.); b) homework reminders (e.g., What pleasant activity will you try today?), and c) self-monitoring (e.g., On a scale of 1-9, how would you rate your mood?). These texts will be linked with the 12 MB sessions. Specifically, after completing each in-person session, 3 texts will be sent by a home visitor to her client; one text will focus on skill reinforcement, one will be a homework reminder, and one will focus on self-monitoring.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

  collaborator NIH

• Northwestern University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Darius Tandon, PhD · Northwestern University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

16 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-06-07

Primary Completion

2019-02-28

Completion

2019-03-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations