Peer support and mobile health for perinatal mental health: A scoping review

Up to one in five women experience perinatal depression and/or anxiety with profound negative consequences for mothers and families. Peer support interventions have the potential to effectively prevent perinatal mental health conditions. Meanwhile, mobile health has gained popularity and plays a significant role in enhancing maternal health services. However, little is known about the availability of mobile health combined with peer support for supporting perinatal mental health. This scoping review aimed to map the relevant literature and gain insights into the available evidence on mobile health and peer support for perinatal mental health, to identify gaps and inform opportunities for future research.

A scoping review of the literature was conducted. The search strategy included five databases: CIANHL, Scopus, PsycInfo, PubMed, and ScienceDirect for the period from 2007 to 2022.

Eight studies met the inclusion criteria, including features of online support strategies, effectiveness, and attitudes of women about peer support with mobile health. The results showed decreased depressive scores and provided a positive experience for women. Strong satisfaction with accessibility and flexibility of mobile health was found when combined with the peer support features. Additional emotional support tools (e.g., mindfulness-based activities) were likely to be acceptable to women and beneficial to mobile health.

Understanding the context of peer support and mobile health informs the potential to support perinatal mental health. Further research in this growing area is needed to test the effectiveness of peer support in combination with mobile health intervention for supporting perinatal mental health.