The SUPPORT Study: Effectiveness and Usability of a Web-Enabled Resource for Postpartum Mental Health

The SUPPORT Study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of postpartumcare.ca, a web-enabled resource for postpartum depression (PPD) and postpartum anxiety (PPA), created based on the input of birthing parents in British Columbia (BC) affected by these disorders.

This is Phase 3 of a multi-phase project that will be completed under the supervision of Dr. Lori Brotto, the University of British Columbia Sexual Health Lab and the Women's Health Research Institute at BC Women's Hospital. The present study phase uses a randomized controlled trial design and will evaluate the effectiveness and usability of postpartumcare.ca using three outcomes: (1) depression and anxiety; (2) system usability and satisfaction; and (3) website metrics. Parents aged 19 or older experiencing postpartum depression and/or anxiety living in BC who gave birth in the past 12 months will be eligible. Fifty will be randomized to the intervention group, receiving immediate access to postpartumcare.ca for 4 weeks, and 50 will be assigned waitlist control, receiving treatment as usual. Depression and anxiety symptoms will be measured at baseline, after the 4-week intervention period, and again 2 weeks later using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Perinatal Anxiety Screening Scale (PASS). After 4 weeks, system usability and satisfaction will be measured using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and website metrics will be collected for the intervention group only. Multivariate analyses will be conducted to compare the anxiety and depression total scores and subscale scores between the two groups (intervention and treatment as usual). Descriptive analyses will be conducted on the satisfaction and usability questionnaires and website metrics. The investigators hypothesize that following the use of postpartumcare.ca, the intervention group will see a greater reduction in depression and/or anxiety symptoms compared to the control group and that the website will be rated as usable. The findings from this trial will add to the existing body of literature investigating the use of eHealth interventions for PPD and PPA treatment. Moreover, postpartumcare.ca will serve as a practical tool for birthing persons in BC in need of accessible and effective support.