Digital Assessment of Well-being in New Parents

The mental health of new parents around the time of the birth of their baby has been identified as a key priority in the NHS (National Health Service) Long Term plan. At present, there is no nationally implemented method for monitoring parents' mental health, although the use of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has been recommended. This is a paper based questionnaire administered by health visitors in the postnatal period. For the purposes of this project, the investigators contacted health visitors in Manchester to find out how they use EPDS in practice. Currently, health visitors only use the questionnaire if they feel there is a need during visits, and the questionnaire is not kept (only the overall score). Since almost 20% of mums develop postnatal depression, more systematic and thorough screening is needed.

The investigators developed an app version of the EPDS which takes less than 2 minutes to complete on a smartphone. It is anticpated that this will be a more accessible and practical method of conducting this important assessment. This project is a feasibility study to find out whether an app would be a feasible, acceptable, valid and safe way to monitor perinatal mental health in women and their partners.

The investigators aim to recruit 20 women and their partners in late pregnancy (after 36 weeks gestation) and ask them to use the app. The app will prompt completion of the EPDS once per day until 6 weeks postnatally. Participants' responses on the app will be transferred to a secure server at the University of Manchester. Participants will be invited to complete a paper version of the EPDS at the beginning and end of the study to check validity. They will also be asked to complete a questionnaire measuring the acceptability of the app and to take part in a brief qualitative interview at the end of the study.