A Mobile App for the Self-Report of Psychological Well-Being During Pregnancy (BrightSelf): Qualitative Design Study

Abstract

BackgroundMaternal mental health impacts both parental well-being and childhood development. In the United Kingdom, 15% of women are affected by depression during pregnancy or within 1 year of giving birth. Suicide is a leading cause of perinatal maternal mortality, and it is estimated that >50% of perinatal depression cases go undiagnosed. Mobile technologies are potentially valuable tools for the early recognition of depressive symptoms, but complex design challenges must be addressed to enable their use in public health screening.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the issues and challenges surrounding the use of mobile phones for the self-report of psychological well-being during pregnancy.MethodsThis paper presents design research carried out as part of the development of BrightSelf, a mobile app for the self-report of psychological well-being during pregnancy. Design sessions were carried out with 38 participants, including pregnant women, mothers, midwives, and other health professionals. Overall, 19 hours of audio were fully transcribed and used as the basis of thematic analysis.ResultsThe study highlighted anxieties concerning the pregnancy journey, challenges surrounding current approaches to the appraisal of well-being in perinatal care, and the midwife-patient relationship. Designers should consider the framing of perinatal mental health technologies, the experience of self-report, supporting self-awareness and disclosure, providing value to users through both self-report and supplementary features, and designing for longitudinal engagement.ConclusionsThis study highlights the needs, motivations, and anxieties of women with respect to technology use in pregnancy and implications for the design of mobile health technologies.

A comparative study of engagement in mobile and wearable health monitoring for bipolar disorder

“…Another reason may be the short duration of the study. Although monitoring could lead to earlier interventions and a better relationship between the patient and the clinician, this study may not have been long enough for improvement to be observed.…”

“…They allow the user to record symptoms at set intervals over time. Individuals with mental illness are generally open to the use of mobile technology, and point to self‐awareness and communication between patients and clinicians as reasons for engaging in self‐monitoring . Visualization of symptom patterns over time may also be considered a specific strategy for increasing engagement .…”

“…Smartphone apps require that users actively record their symptoms, a burden that may decrease engagement with users preferring more automated ways to record symptoms . They also involve subjective measurements, which may lead to less accurate or less biologically relevant markers of symptoms . Sensors and wearable devices allow symptoms to monitored passively and objectively .…”

“…Individuals with mental illness are generally open to the use of mobile technology, and point to self-awareness and communication between patients and clinicians as reasons for engaging in self-monitoring. 7,[16][17][18] Visualization of symptom patterns over time may also be considered a specific strategy for increasing engagement. 17 Primarily focused on qualitative information, few studies have provided quantitative evidence for engagement strategies in selfmonitoring of BP.…”

“…7 They also involve subjective measurements, which may lead to less accurate or less biologically relevant markers of symptoms. 6,14,16 Sensors and wearable devices allow symptoms to monitored passively and objectively. For example, MONARCA, 19 PRIORI, 20 and Bi-Affect 21 use patterns of speech and behavior from recorded calls, keystrokes, number of phone calls, and duration of phone calls to predict mood.…”