JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Despite approximately 10% of new mothers in Canada developing postpartum depression (PPD), they face many barriers when accessing care. eHealth offers a unique opportunity to provide psychosocial skills and support to new mothers; however, patient populations are not consistently engaged in eHealth development processes, thus the diversity of women and their needs are often not reflected in existing tools.

Objective:

This study engaged women from a variety of backgrounds and locations around British Columbia (BC) who had previously experienced PPD, for the purposes of determining the unmet psychoeducational needs of women with PPD and how a web-enabled platform used to deliver psychosocial skills and education to assist in the management of PPD could fulfill those needs.

Methods:

Focus groups were conducted in seven cities across BC with a total of 31 women (mean age=34.5 years), with each group ranging from 2-7 participants. Focus groups were co-facilitated by the study coordinator and a local service provider in each community, using a semistructured guide to discuss participants’ needs, ideas, and opinions as they relate to the use of technology in PPD management. Transcripts were approached inductively, using thematic analysis to identify themes and Qualitative Description to frame what was observed in the data.

Results:

Five themes were identified: bridging gaps to meet needs; providing validation to combat stigma; nurturing capacity to cope, manage, and/or reach wellness; empowering people to take ownership over their mental health; and offering customization to ensure relevance. Each theme identified a need (eg, combatting stigma) and a way to address that need using a web-enabled intervention (eg, providing validation). At the intersection of these themes was the overarching value of promoting agency for women experiencing PPD.

Conclusions:

Ultimately, new mothers require accessible mental health care that promotes their agency in mental health care decision-making. Our participants believed a web-enabled intervention could help meet this need. These data will be used to guide the design of such an intervention, with the eventual implementation of this resource as a first-line management option for PPD.