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Conference articles · 2022

A Mobile Health (mHealth) Technology for Maternal Depression and Stress Assessment and Intervention during Pregnancy: Findings from a Pilot Study

ABM Rezbaul Islam, Masud Rabbani, S.M. Tafsir Hasan, Paramita Basak Upama, M. Kamruzzaman Mozumder, Faruque Parvez, Md Alfazal Khan, Mary Musleh, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Khalid M. Khan

2022 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE) · Pages 170–171

Abstract

The burden of depression and stress in pregnant women during and after pregnancy is a global public health challenge, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs). In Bangladesh, about 16-20% pregnant women are diagnosed with depression and stress. This has negative effects on both maternal health and child development. Continuous remote monitoring of mental health conditions by smartphone applications coupled with psycho-educational intervention via trained Community Health Workers (CHWs) may help minimize this public health crisis. Before developing our depression evaluation and educational application (DEEA), an innovative mobile-based mHealth technology, we have conducted a feasibility study on 60 pregnant women, between the age of 19 – 32 years from two rural sub-districts in Bangladesh. Preliminary data reveal that 87% of women have access to a smartphone, and most have reported internet access at home (i.e., 83%). Based on our survey, it is highly likely that women have enough decision-making ability on household purchases, specifically on grocery and healthcare choices. Overall, rural Bangladesh offers an ideal low-resource setting to develop and evaluate the efficiency of the DEEA mHealth technology for evaluation and management of prepartum and postpartum depression and stress.

Publication details

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Conference articles
Authors & affiliations
  1. ABM Rezbaul IslamDepartment of Computer Science, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA
  2. Masud RabbaniDepartment of Computer Science, Ubicomp Lab, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.
  3. S.M. Tafsir HasanNutrition and Clinical Services Division, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  4. Paramita Basak UpamaDepartment of Computer Science, Ubicomp Lab, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.
  5. M. Kamruzzaman MozumderDepartment of Clinical Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  6. Faruque ParvezDepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
  7. Md Alfazal KhanMatlab Health Research Centre, icddr,b, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  8. Mary MuslehDepartment of Public Health, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA
  9. Sheikh Iqbal AhamedDepartment of Computer Science, Ubicomp Lab, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.
  10. Khalid M. KhanDepartment of Public Health, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX, USA
Venue
2022 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE)
Publisher
IEEE/ACM
Record
Pages 170–171
Published
2022
Cite this work

ABM Rezbaul Islam, Masud Rabbani, S.M. Tafsir Hasan, Paramita Basak Upama, M. Kamruzzaman Mozumder, Faruque Parvez, Md Alfazal Khan, Mary Musleh, Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Khalid M. Khan. “A Mobile Health (mHealth) Technology for Maternal Depression and Stress Assessment and Intervention during Pregnancy: Findings from a Pilot Study”. 2022 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Connected Health: Applications, Systems and Engineering Technologies (CHASE), 170–171. (2022).

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Research takeaway

A feasibility survey of 60 pregnant women in rural Bangladesh assesses smartphone access and household decision-making before development of the DEEA maternal mental health app. The results support evaluating a combination of remote assessment and community health worker education.

Research topics

  • Mobile Health (mHealth)
  • Low-Middle-Income-Countries (LMICs)
  • Depression Evaluation and Educational Application (DEEA)
  • Community Health Workers (CHWs)
  • maternal mental health
  • prenatal depression
  • pregnancy stress
  • mobile health
  • pilot study
  • digital intervention