USP tests apps to help mothers with postpartum depression

Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at FMUSP (Faculty of Medicine at the University of São Paulo) test two applications against postpartum depression.

Named Motherly and COMVC, they are part of a randomized clinical trial called Maay, created to test tools against postpartum depression. The research is conducted by the team led by the psychiatrist and associate professor of Psychiatry at USP, Guilherme Polanczy.

The apps, available for free on Google Play and the Apple Store, take different approaches. Its effectiveness will be tested in the study.

Anyone who wants to participate in the research must answer a questionnaire on the official website and wait for a professional from the team to contact them. Afterwards, the interested party is submitted to an online conversation with a psychologist and to a lottery that determines which application to test. Women who join the study are supported to learn how to install, use and get the most out of the resources.

“We want to know if by learning the techniques and using the apps, depression and anxiety problems will be reduced”, said psychologist Daniel Fatori, one of the researchers involved in the creation of the apps, during the Brain Congress 2022, held in Gramado (RS) .

The study lasts for two months, one for intervention and another for follow-up, which checks whether the treatment was really effective.

All participants are monitored independently of the app. If at any time the evaluator finds that there is a need for medical or psychological care, the woman is referred to the referral network.

The treatment available on Motherly is based on psychological techniques such as behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring, stress management, emotional regulation, meditation and relaxation.

Motherly also offers an agenda for consultations, exams and activities, content on mental health, nutrition, fetal development, breastfeeding and vaccines, all produced by doctors, psychologists and nutritionists.

COMVC, on the other hand, is focused on mental health and uses psychoeducation. The app brings together two- and three-minute videos with concepts related to psychological techniques that help in the treatment of depression, anxiety, stress, burnout and insomnia, for example. There are also methods of relaxation, meditation and breathing. These are classes with light terms and for lay people.

“While Motherly offers more active modalities, COMVC videos are more passive. You watch and decide if you apply the techniques on a daily basis”, says Fatori.

Until the morning of this Tuesday (14), 161 women had already entered the study. The researchers still need to recruit another 103 participants. The capture takes place through social networks and by referencing.

The study looks for women between the ages of 18 and 40, with mild or moderate postpartum depression, with no other diagnoses. There are other requirements such as having had a child for a maximum of 12 months, having an iPhone or Android smartphone and an internet connection.

One in four women in Brazil develop postpartum depression, according to a study carried out by Fiocruz with 23,894 postpartum women from six to 18 months after the birth of the baby.

Using technology for mental health

For Ives Cavalcante Passos, professor at the Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine at UFRS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), applications aimed at patients help to meet the demand caused by the difficulty of accessing mental health treatment.

“Of people with depression in the world, 50% do not have access to mental health care for three reasons: stigma in relation to the disease, the lack of availability of professionals in the area in which the person is in or the financial part. With these apps, it is believed that some barriers will be alleviated. The intervention is positive, as the app is pervasive and available more widely in society, which helps to reduce the stigma of mental illness in a way that people are informed about the problem” , said Passos, also present at Brain Congress 2022.

According to the researcher, in Brazil there are few studies of effective mental health applications that respect aspects such as data privacy, security, usability, effectiveness and availability of access.

A survey recently released by FGV (Fundação Getulio Vargas) reveals that the country has 447 million digital devices (computers, notebooks, tablets and smartphones) in use (corporate and domestic) — more than two per inhabitant. The smartphone is the most used.

*The reporter traveled at the invitation of Brain Congress 2022