Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT04146025

Nurtured in Nature

The investigators pilot test a Nature Coach Intervention in a population of postpartum women, to increase the amount of time people spend outside in local nature, with the goal of preventing postpartum depression.

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Postpartum Depression Depression, Postpartum Depressive Disorder Environmental Exposure Female Urogenital Diseases and Pregnancy Complications Mental Disorders Mood Disorders Pregnancy Complications Pregnancy Related Puerperal Disorders Urogenital Diseases

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

Female

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States

About this study

Postpartum depression (PPD), characterized by feelings of sadness, irritability, and fatigue following the birth of a child, occurs in 10-15% of women. PPD peaks within the first 2-3 months following delivery, but can occur anytime in the first year, representing one of the most common complications of childbearing. The consequences go beyond impaired functioning for the woman, and include harmful effects on the cognitive and emotional development of the woman's infant. Despite this, many women are undiagnosed and do not get adequate treatment.

Living near and spending time in green space is associated with a host of mental health benefits, including reduced depression and improved well-being. Research has shown that women who live near more green space have improved birth outcomes such as higher birthweight infants.

Despite the growing body of evidence linking nature with improved mental health, spending time in green space is not a standard health promoting tool to address mental illness. Behavioral economics concepts have been used successfully in promoting other preventative health behaviors such as physical activity and healthy eating.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • 18 years old and older
  • Delivery of a living child
  • Ambulatory
  • Live in West or Southwest Philadelphia
  • Have a smart phone
  • Able to understand and respond to an oral interview in English

Exclusion criteria

  • Baby in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
  • Mother has not been in Intensive Care Unit pre/post-delivery
  • Gestational age less than 37 weeks
  • Department of Human Services involvement

Treatment and study plan

Nature Coach Intervention

Behavioral
  • Home visit. During the 1-hour home visit, the coach will (a) provide education about the health benefits of nature, (b) identify nearby nature targets for the participant to visit, (c) complete a pre-commitment contract based on individualized weekly nature goals, and (d) brainstorm barriers and solutions to reaching the goals.
  • Personalized weekly text messages. Texts will serve as reminders of goals set with the Nature Coach, as well as encouragement to meet the goals. The context of text messages with change slightly based on individual participants, the goals they set, and the barriers they identify.
  • Goal feedback- At the end of each week, participants will receive a progression badge via text message that shows the amount of days and time they spent in nature, and how this matched up to the goal set with the Nature Coach.

Primary outcomes

  1. Green space use

    Time frame: 3 months

    This will be measured using Global Positioning System (GPS) data to see the amount of time spent in green space.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Prevention of postpartum depression

    Time frame: 3 months

    This will be measured using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale is a 10-statement scale that was developed to identify women who may have postpartum depression. Each answer is given a score of 0 to 3.The maximum score is 30

    Questions 1, 2, & 4 are scored 0, 1, 2 or 3 with the first choice option scored as a 0 and the last choice option scored as 3. Questions 3, 5-10 are reverse scored, with the first choice option scored as a 3 and the last choice option scored as a 0. A score of 10 or more suggests that minor or major depression may be present.

  2. Improvement in general well-being

    Time frame: 3 months

    This will be measured using the World Health Organization-5 (WHO-5) Well-being Index. The WHO-5 Well-Being Index is a questionnaire that measures current mental well-being,with the time frame being the previous two weeks.This is five items rated on 6-point Likert scale (All of the time, Most of the time, More than half the time, Less than half the time, Some of the time, At no time). The raw score is calculated by totaling the figures of the five answers. The raw score ranges from 0 to 25, 0 representing worst possible and 25 representing best possible quality of life.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Leveraging Urban Nature, Behavioral Economics, and Mobile Platforms to Prevent Postpartum Depression

Important dates

Study start
2019
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Oct 31, 2019
Registry last updated
Nov 24, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.