Dataset Information

A Mobile App for the Self-Report of Psychological Well-Being During Pregnancy (BrightSelf): Qualitative Design Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Maternal mental health impacts both parental well-being and childhood development. In the United Kingdom, 15% of women are affected by depression during pregnancy or within 1 year of giving birth. Suicide is a leading cause of perinatal maternal mortality, and it is estimated that >50% of perinatal depression cases go undiagnosed. Mobile technologies are potentially valuable tools for the early recognition of depressive symptoms, but complex design challenges must be addressed to enable their use in public health screening.

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the issues and challenges surrounding the use of mobile phones for the self-report of psychological well-being during pregnancy.

Methods

This paper presents design research carried out as part of the development of BrightSelf, a mobile app for the self-report of psychological well-being during pregnancy. Design sessions were carried out with 38 participants, including pregnant women, mothers, midwives, and other health professionals. Overall, 19 hours of audio were fully transcribed and used as the basis of thematic analysis.

Results

The study highlighted anxieties concerning the pregnancy journey, challenges surrounding current approaches to the appraisal of well-being in perinatal care, and the midwife-patient relationship. Designers should consider the framing of perinatal mental health technologies, the experience of self-report, supporting self-awareness and disclosure, providing value to users through both self-report and supplementary features, and designing for longitudinal engagement.

Conclusions

This study highlights the needs, motivations, and anxieties of women with respect to technology use in pregnancy and implications for the design of mobile health technologies.

SUBMITTER: Doherty K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6290271 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

A Mobile App for the Self-Report of Psychological Well-Being During Pregnancy (BrightSelf): Qualitative Design Study.

Doherty Kevin K Barry Marguerite M Marcano-Belisario José J Arnaud Bérenger B Morrison Cecily C Car Josip J Doherty Gavin G

JMIR mental health 20181127 4

<h4>Background</h4>Maternal mental health impacts both parental well-being and childhood development. In the United Kingdom, 15% of women are affected by depression during pregnancy or within 1 year of giving birth. Suicide is a leading cause of perinatal maternal mortality, and it is estimated that >50% of perinatal depression cases go undiagnosed. Mobile technologies are potentially valuable tools for the early recognition of depressive symptoms, but complex design challenges must be addressed ...[more]

PMID: 30482742

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Project description:BackgroundCommercial smartphone apps designed to promote emotional well-being are becoming increasingly popular, but few apps have been empirically validated.ObjectiveThis study examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a self-guided app designed to reduce daily stress via positive messaging and tailored short inspirational talks (ie, peps).MethodsA total of 166 participants (n=112, 67.5% female; mean age 38.48, SD 6.73 years) were recruited through social media advertising and randomized into an intervention (Hey Lemonade app plus twice daily mood monitoring using the Multidimensional Mood Questionnaire [MDMQ]) or active control (twice daily mood monitoring [MDMQ]) group. Primary (coping self-efficacy [CSE]; 3 subscales) and secondary outcomes (vitality, satisfaction with life, perceived stress, positive and negative affect, and hassles and uplifts) were measured at the baseline (week 1) and end point (week 4). The app evaluation questions were assessed at week 2. All interactions and measurements were collected on the internet and through the apps.ResultsIn total, of 166 participants, 125 (75.3%) completed the trial. There were no differences in dropout rates between the groups (62/81, 76% intervention; 63/85, 74% control). There were significant group-by-time interactions for vitality and hassles but no significant effect for CSE total (P=.05). For the intervention group, the change from baseline to week 4 was significant for vitality (P=.002) and hassles (P=.004), CSE total (P=.008), and CSE Emotional subscale (P=.02). For the control group, any changes over 4 weeks were not significant for any outcome. There was a significant group-by-time interaction for MDMQ calmness (P=.04). By week 4, calmness was significantly higher in the intervention group (P=.046). Of those in the intervention group at week 2 (n=68), 39 (57%) participants recommended the app and 41 (60%) participants wanted to continue using it. Pep talks and customizable voice options were the most popular features.ConclusionsParticipants who had access to the smartphone app on an as-needed basis over the 4-week trial showed significant improvements in emotional well-being indicators. More broadly, this suggests that simple accessible solutions may generate meaningful well-being outcomes. Whether these changes are sustained and can be generalized to other population groups is yet to be determined.Trial registrationAustralian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR) 12622001005741; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=384304&isReview=true.

Project description:BackgroundAdolescence is a life stage characterized by intense development and increased vulnerability. Yet, young people rarely seek help for mental health, often due to stigma and embarrassment. Alarmingly, even those who do seek help may not be able to receive it. Interventions focused on well-being offer a protective factor against adversity. Highly effective, innovative, theoretically sound, accessible, and engaging mobile health (mHealth) interventions that can be used to look beyond mental ill-health and toward mental well-being are urgently needed.ObjectiveWe aimed to explore how young Australians conceptualize and construct recovery journeys from feeling unwell to being well in order to inform the conceptual design of a youth-led information-, resource-, and support-focused mHealth intervention.MethodsA sample of young people, grouped by age (12-15 years, 16-19 years, and 20-25 years), took part in 3 in-person participatory design workshops (per group). Young people's understanding and representation of well-being, feeling unwell, and the recovery journey were investigated using visual and linguistic data collection methods: photo elicitation and journey mapping. A social constructionist perspective was used for thematic analysis to produce a conceptual model of the recovery journey. A mobile app was co-designed and all app functions were mapped through iterative development and testing by young people and a team of psychology, research, design and information technology experts.ResultsYoung people (n=25) described a 6-stage journey with specific barriers and coping strategies. The findings, when situated within the personal recovery framework in mental health, emphasize the cyclic and iterative model of change. Through co-design, the new app-Niggle-was conceptualized as a visual representation of an amorphous problem, which can be addressed through app functions corresponding to the most helpful strategies that young people used to progress through the stages of their recovery journey.ConclusionsNiggle is available to offer support to young people for a range of problems and provides a hot link to counseling services in Australia. This paper elaborates on the process of in-depth qualitative data collection through visual, linguistic, and co-design methods. The findings of this study give insight into young people's understanding of well-being and recovery. This paper could aid the development of high-quality personalized mHealth interventions and support resources.

Project description:BackgroundTo improve workers' health and well-being, workplace interventions have been developed, but utilization and reach are unsatisfactory, and effects are small. In recent years, new approaches such as mobile health (mHealth) apps are being developed, but the evidence base is poor. Research is needed to examine its potential and to assess when, where, and for whom mHealth is efficacious in the occupational setting. To develop interventions for workers that actually will be adopted, insight into user satisfaction and technology acceptance is necessary. For this purpose, various qualitative evaluation methods are available.ObjectiveThe objectives of this study were to gain insight into (1) the opinions and experiences of employees and experts on drivers and barriers using an mHealth app in the working context and (2) the added value of three different qualitative methods that are available to evaluate mHealth apps in a working context: interviews with employees, focus groups with employees, and a focus group with experts.MethodsEmployees of a high-tech company and experts were asked to use an mHealth app for at least 3 weeks before participating in a qualitative evaluation. Twenty-two employees participated in interviews, 15 employees participated in three focus groups, and 6 experts participated in one focus group. Two researchers independently coded, categorized, and analyzed all quotes yielded from these evaluation methods with a codebook using constructs from user satisfaction and technology acceptance theories.ResultsInterviewing employees yielded 785 quotes, focus groups with employees yielded 266 quotes, and the focus group with experts yielded 132 quotes. Overall, participants muted enthusiasm about the app. Combined results from the three evaluation methods showed drivers and barriers for technology, user characteristics, context, privacy, and autonomy. A comparison between the three qualitative methods showed that issues revealed by experts only slightly overlapped with those expressed by employees. In addition, it was seen that the type of evaluation yielded different results.ConclusionsFindings from this study provide the following recommendations for organizations that are planning to provide mHealth apps to their workers and for developers of mHealth apps: (1) system performance influences adoption and adherence, (2) relevancy and benefits of the mHealth app should be clear to the user and should address users' characteristics, (3) app should take into account the work context, and (4) employees should be alerted to their right to privacy and use of personal data. Furthermore, a qualitative evaluation of mHealth apps in a work setting might benefit from combining more than one method. Factors to consider when selecting a qualitative research method are the design, development stage, and implementation of the app; the working context in which it is being used; employees' mental models; practicability; resources; and skills required of experts and users.

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Dataset Information

A Mobile App for the Self-Report of Psychological Well-Being During Pregnancy (BrightSelf): Qualitative Design Study.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

A Mobile App for the Self-Report of Psychological Well-Being During Pregnancy (BrightSelf): Qualitative Design Study.

Similar Datasets

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