Effectiveness of mobile application-based perinatal interventions in improving parenting outcomes: A systematic review
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Joelle Yan Xin Chua1, Shefaly Shorey1
1Alice Lee Centre for Nursing Studies, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Level 2, Clinical Research Centre, Block MD11, 10 Medical Drive 117597, Singapore.
Insights
Mobile apps show promise for improving parental well-being during the perinatal period. Interventions including education, therapy, and peer support enhance parenting self-efficacy and reduce anxiety and depression.
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.
Objective:
Parents face many challenges during the perinatal period and are at risk for mental health issues, especially during the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Mobile application-based interventions can help parents to improve their psychosocial well-being in a convenient and accessible manner. This review aims to examine the effectiveness of mobile application-based perinatal interventions in improving parenting self-efficacy, anxiety, and depression (primary outcomes), as well as stress, social support, and parent-child bonding (secondary outcomes) among parents.
Methods:
Seven electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Scopus, and ProQuest Thesis and Dissertations) were searched from their respective inception dates until August 2021. The Cochrane Risk of Bias-2 tool was used to conduct quality appraisals. Results were narratively synthesized due to the high heterogeneity of intervention and participant types.
Findings:
A total of 6164 articles were retrieved from the seven electronic databases and citation searching. After excluding duplicate records and irrelevant titles/abstracts, 105 full texts were examined. Full-text screening excluded another 93 articles, leaving 12 included studies in this review. All studies were rated as having some concerns or a high overall risk of bias. Mobile application-based interventions were found to be feasible and promising in improving parents' overall well-being post-intervention during the perinatal period. Further research would be needed to determine their long-term effects.
Key Conclusions And Implications For Practice:
Parental well-being was shown to improve using the following intervention components: educational resources on perinatal and infant care, psychotherapy, and support from peers and healthcare professionals. Hence, future interventions could aim to include these components and evaluate all inter-related parenting outcomes (parenting self-efficacy, stress, anxiety, depression, social support, and parent-child bonding). Parents could be provided with experiential learning exposure by using computer animations and virtual reality. Future research could be conducted on more fathers and parents from varied geographical regions.
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