mHealth Intervention to Reduce Maternal Postnatal Depression and Promote Family Health

Summary

The proposed study is to test the effectiveness of a culturally-attuned, family-based mobile health (mHealth) intervention in reducing symptoms of postnatal depression and promoting health among expectant mothers in Hong Kong. Using a family perspective, the proposed mHealth intervention will engage family members, including expectant fathers and grandparents, in providing support to expectant mothers. Expectant mothers and their family members will be recruited at antenatal clinics at two public hospitals in Hong Kong and randomized to receive the family-based mHealth intervention (experimental), the mother-only mHealth intervention (experimental), or the health education (control). Maternal depression, anxiety and stress, perceived social support, health-related quality of life, and perceived family cohesion will be assessed at recruitment and four weeks after childbirth. For family members, symptoms of anxiety and stress, health-related quality of life, and perceived family cohesion will be measured.

Conditions

• Postnatal Depression
• Quality of Life
• Family Relations

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

family-based mHealth Intervention

The intervention consists of three versions: mother, father, and grandparent. The app consists of health information about pregnancy, postnatal care, and infant care in the form of brief texts and short videos. Each versions have their unique features, such as a platform to ask questions in mother version, a quiz game to promote fathers' knowledge related to father's involvement, educational materials tailored for grandparents. An obstetrician and a social worker will respond to the questions. Details please refer to the proposal.

BEHAVIORAL

mother-only mHealth Intervention

The expectant mothers in this group will receive information about pregnancy, postnatal care, and infant care in the form of brief texts and short videos via a smartphone app. The expectant mothers will also have access to a platform in the smartphone app to ask questions about their pregnancy. An obstetrician will respond to the questions.

OTHER

Health education

The expectant mothers in the control group will receive information about pregnancy, postnatal care, and infant care in the form of brief texts and short videos via a smartphone app.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kwong Wah Hospital

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Hong Kong

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Glasgow

  collaborator OTHER

• Tsan Yuk Hospital, Hong Kong

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-06-16

Primary Completion

2023-06-30

Completion

2023-12-31

Countries

• Hong Kong

Study Locations