Effectiveness of mobile application-based perinatal interventions in improving parenting outcomes: A systematic...

Area of Science:

• Perinatal Mental Health
• Digital Health Interventions
• Parenting Support

Background:

• Parents experience significant challenges and mental health risks during the perinatal period, exacerbated by events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mobile applications offer a convenient and accessible platform for delivering interventions to support parental psychosocial well-being.

Approach:

• A systematic review was conducted by searching seven electronic databases up to August 2021.
• Included studies were assessed for risk of bias using the Cochrane Risk of Bias-2 tool.
• Due to heterogeneity, results were synthesized narratively.

Key Points:

• Twelve studies were included, with all rated as having some or high risk of bias.
• Mobile application-based perinatal interventions were found to be feasible and promising for improving parental well-being.
• Key effective components included educational resources, psychotherapy, and peer/professional support.

Conclusions:

• Parental well-being, including parenting self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression, can be improved through targeted mobile interventions.
• Future interventions should incorporate educational resources, psychotherapy, and social support, potentially using innovative methods like VR.
• Further research is needed on long-term effects and diverse populations, including fathers and varied geographical regions.