Proactive, Personalized Postpartum Mental Healthcare

NCT03803189 | Completed

• 2 other identifiers: 2018-0099-BPCG-155463
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 130
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

Mental health symptoms - especially depression and anxiety - are very common in new parents, affecting close to 20% of mothers and at least 10% of fathers. When such symptoms progress to severe levels, they can be more difficult to treat. Early identification of symptoms and prompt treatment are ideal. Despite broad awareness that mental health symptoms in new parents are common, few systems are in place to automatically assess and monitor such symptoms. Evidence-based symptom surveys that can identify parents at risk for postpartum mental health disorders exist, and effective medication and non-medication treatment options are available. Yet, most primary care settings do not have systems in place to ensure that parents with mental health problems (and especially fathers) are identified and treated. This study will use a digital application with a customized website, electronic medical record and email integration to engage parents in assessing their mental health symptoms within weeks of the birth of their new baby. Electronic symptom surveys, sent on behalf of the family doctor, will be used to support proactive, personalized postpartum mental healthcare (P3MH). Responses will be used to enable a tailored care plan for the patient, including advice about options for referrals, treatment, and local community-based psycho-educational and/or social supports. This eHealth intervention includes a web-based application for parents and seamless integration in the EMR, so that when the family doctor sees the patient in clinic, relevant information is ready to be discussed. In this study, a co-design process will be carried with patients and health professionals to refine this eHealth intervention, and determine the usability, user experience, and perceived value of this process in terms of whether it enables mental health symptoms to be caught early and managed in the best way possible for each parent. The procedures will also be piloted for a future large-scale evaluation.

Conditions

Postpartum Depression; Postpartum Blues; Postpartum Anxiety; Postpartum Mood Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) Score

  The primary outcome will assess intervention effectiveness in terms of improved patient-reported mental health outcomes at 12 and 24 weeks postpartum. Scale range: 0-30; EPDS\<10 without suicidality indicates low-risk for postpartum depression and anxiety; EPDS 10-18 without suicidality indicates medium-risk for postpartum depression and anxiety; EPDS\>19 and/or suicidality indicates high-risk for postpartum depression and anxiety

  Baseline, 12 weeks and 24 weeks postpartum

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Time to treatment initiation

  24 weeks postpartum

Other Outcomes (1)

• Perceived value of personalized eToolkit

  12 weeks postpartum

Study Arms (2)

Personalized eToolkit

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention arm will receive a personalized eToolkit with community and electronic supports each time they complete a survey, and their PCP will receive supports in the EMR to facilitate postpartum mental healthcare.

Behavioral: Usual care plus eToolkit

Usual care

NO INTERVENTION

The control arm will not receive intervention materials, unless they express suicidality, in which case they will receive a message with supports for suicidality including local emergency departments and crisis lines and an urgent message via EMR and fax will be sent to their PCP. Control arm participants will be asked to complete a baseline e-survey in their third trimester, and a follow-up e-survey 24-weeks after their baby is born.

Interventions

Usual care plus eToolkit BEHAVIORAL

The intervention arm will receive repeated e-surveys via email to collect the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) score at baseline and 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 weeks. Those with EPDS\<10 will be triaged as low risk. Those with EPDS 10-18 (without suicidality) will be triaged as symptomatic for non-urgent clinical assessment with a message delivered via the EMR. Those with EPDS≥19 or suicidality will be triaged as requiring immediate follow-up, with an urgent message to their PCP via EMR, phone (if suicidal) and fax. Prompts in the EMR will enable evidence-based clinical care for PPD and PPA, highlight treatment preferences to support shared decision making, and identify appropriate referrals. Intervention arm participants will receive a personalized eToolkit after the completion of each survey. Patients in the intervention group with symptoms will be invited to a telephone interview at 12 weeks postpartum to describe their experience with the intervention.

Personalized eToolkit

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Biological and non-biological new parents of all sex and gender identities
• Must be able to interact with an eHealth intervention (i.e., have a smartphone, and an active email address)
• Must be rostered to a participating primary care provider who works \>1 day per week in the participating clinics and provides comprehensive primary care

You may not qualify if:

• History of severe mental illness (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder), active alcohol or substance use disorder, and/or symptomatic at time of recruitment (i.e., EPDS\>15. PHQ-9 and/or GAD-7 \>10 or suicidality)
• Pregnant women with active mental illness

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Women's College Hospital: lead
• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): collaborator
• Michael Garron Hospital: collaborator

Study Sites (2)

South East Toronto Family Health Team

Toronto, Ontario, M4C 5T2, Canada

Location

Women's College Hospital Family Practice Health Centre

Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1B3, Canada

Location

Related Publications (15)

• Stewart DE, Vigod S. Postpartum Depression. N Engl J Med. 2016 Dec 1;375(22):2177-2186. doi: 10.1056/NEJMcp1607649. No abstract available.

  PMID: 27959754 BACKGROUND

• Dennis CL, Falah-Hassani K, Shiri R. Prevalence of antenatal and postnatal anxiety: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Psychiatry. 2017 May;210(5):315-323. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.116.187179. Epub 2017 Mar 16.

  PMID: 28302701 BACKGROUND

• Falah-Hassani K, Shiri R, Dennis CL. The prevalence of antenatal and postnatal co-morbid anxiety and depression: a meta-analysis. Psychol Med. 2017 Sep;47(12):2041-2053. doi: 10.1017/S0033291717000617. Epub 2017 Apr 17.

  PMID: 28414017 BACKGROUND

• Paulson JF, Bazemore SD. Prenatal and postpartum depression in fathers and its association with maternal depression: a meta-analysis. JAMA. 2010 May 19;303(19):1961-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.2010.605.

  PMID: 20483973 BACKGROUND

• Field T. Postpartum depression effects on early interactions, parenting, and safety practices: a review. Infant Behav Dev. 2010 Feb;33(1):1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2009.10.005. Epub 2009 Dec 3.

  PMID: 19962196 BACKGROUND

• Letourneau N, Tryphonopoulos PD, Duffett-Leger L, Stewart M, Benzies K, Dennis CL, Joschko J. Support intervention needs and preferences of fathers affected by postpartum depression. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs. 2012 Jan-Mar;26(1):69-80. doi: 10.1097/JPN.0b013e318241da87.

  PMID: 22293644 BACKGROUND

• Legare F, Witteman HO. Shared decision making: examining key elements and barriers to adoption into routine clinical practice. Health Aff (Millwood). 2013 Feb;32(2):276-84. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2012.1078.

  PMID: 23381520 BACKGROUND

• O'Connor E, Rossom RC, Henninger M, Groom HC, Burda BU. Primary Care Screening for and Treatment of Depression in Pregnant and Postpartum Women: Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2016 Jan 26;315(4):388-406. doi: 10.1001/jama.2015.18948.

  PMID: 26813212 BACKGROUND

• Kingston D, Austin MP, Veldhuyzen van Zanten S, Harvalik P, Giallo R, McDonald SD, MacQueen G, Vermeyden L, Lasiuk G, Sword W, Biringer A. Pregnant Women's Views on the Feasibility and Acceptability of Web-Based Mental Health E-Screening Versus Paper-Based Screening: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Med Internet Res. 2017 Apr 7;19(4):e88. doi: 10.2196/jmir.6866.

  PMID: 28389421 BACKGROUND

• Gibson J, McKenzie-McHarg K, Shakespeare J, Price J, Gray R. A systematic review of studies validating the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in antepartum and postpartum women. Acta Psychiatr Scand. 2009 May;119(5):350-64. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2009.01363.x. Epub 2009 Mar 2.

  PMID: 19298573 BACKGROUND

• Matthey S, Fisher J, Rowe H. Using the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale to screen for anxiety disorders: conceptual and methodological considerations. J Affect Disord. 2013 Apr 5;146(2):224-30. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2012.09.009. Epub 2012 Oct 30.

  PMID: 23116811 BACKGROUND

• Matthey S, Barnett B, Kavanagh DJ, Howie P. Validation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale for men, and comparison of item endorsement with their partners. J Affect Disord. 2001 May;64(2-3):175-84. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0327(00)00236-6.

  PMID: 11313084 BACKGROUND

• Spitzer RL, Kroenke K, Williams JB, Lowe B. A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: the GAD-7. Arch Intern Med. 2006 May 22;166(10):1092-7. doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.10.1092.

  PMID: 16717171 BACKGROUND

• Kroenke K, Spitzer RL, Williams JB. The PHQ-9: validity of a brief depression severity measure. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 Sep;16(9):606-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.016009606.x.

  PMID: 11556941 BACKGROUND

• Eldridge SM, Chan CL, Campbell MJ, Bond CM, Hopewell S, Thabane L, Lancaster GA; PAFS consensus group. CONSORT 2010 statement: extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials. BMJ. 2016 Oct 24;355:i5239. doi: 10.1136/bmj.i5239.

  PMID: 27777223 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Depression, Postpartum

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Puerperal Disorders; Pregnancy Complications; Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications; Urogenital Diseases; Depressive Disorder; Mood Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Noah Ivers, MD, PhD

  Women's College Hospital

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The sequence will be concealed to primary care providers and study staff other than the research coordinator who will apply the allocation. Study staff, including analysts, will also be blind to treatment allocation. Patients and healthcare professionals who may interact with study participants cannot be blinded due to the nature of the intervention, but outcome assessment will be blind.
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Family Physician and Scientist

Model Details: An independent statistician following a 2:1 ratio to increase opportunities to learn about the intervention processes during this pilot trial will randomly allocate consenting patients at each site following the completion of their baseline survey to intervention or usual care using a computer-generated sequence.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 25, 2018
• First Posted: January 14, 2019
• Study Start: March 14, 2019
• Primary Completion: April 24, 2021
• Study Completion: April 24, 2021
• Last Updated: October 5, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-10

Locations

CA (2)