The MommaConnect project is rooted in the compelling research and statistics surrounding postpartum depression (PPD) and its impact on maternal mental health and infant outcomes. PPD affects approximately 1 in 5 women, with higher rates observed among African American/Black (AA/B) women after giving birth. The adverse effects of untreated PPD include chronic and treatment-resistant depression, functional impairment, dysfunctional family relationships, and increased suicide risk in mothers. Furthermore, PPD negatively affects mother-infant interaction, leading to decreased attention to infant safety, reduced breastfeeding rates, and poor infant developmental outcomes. Infants of mothers with PPD are at significant risk for long-term cognitive, emotional, and neurobehavioral issues. Access to specialized mental healthcare for AA/B women with PPD is limited, exacerbating healthcare disparities. MommaConnect addresses these challenges by offering evidence-based therapies, such as Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Mother-Baby Interaction Therapy (MBI), targeting both mothers with PPD and their infants. By leveraging a tailored mHealth platform, MommaConnect improves treatment accessibility, reduces mental health stigma, and addresses social determinants of health. It provides a comprehensive and innovative approach to perinatal mental health, aiming to enhance therapy sessions, facilitate ongoing monitoring and support, and ultimately improve outcomes for AA/B mothers and their infants. MBC is one of only three programs that target intensive mental health treatment among low-income postpartum women of color. MommaConnect’s innovative features include:

● MommaConnect combines evidence-based therapies for maternal mental health and mother-infant interaction.

● MommaConnect utilizes a customized digital platform for remote psychotherapy and support.

● MommaConnect overcomes access barriers by offering online/offline capabilities and targeting low-income postpartum women (African American/Black mothers with PPD).

● MommaConnect enables patient data collection and promotes collaborative treatment decisions between clinicians and patients. 

Here is the list of deliverables:

• Review 6-week therapy educational content for mothers and come up with a template for the classes/or clickable
• Create a lo-fi wireframe for mother interaction
• Create an Interactive hi-fi wireframe for mother interaction
• Two iterations of the interactive wireframes for A/B testing with clinicians implementing two therapy concepts (MBI/IPT), chat features between clinicians and mothers, and educational/homework activities for engaging AA/Black mothers (Second iteration of interactive wireframe based on feedback from focus group testing) 

The design of the system component must include:

• Allow for the creation of mobile education applications for use by clinicians focused on PPD/maternal and MBI/IPT education.
• Provide a design system for the current and future expansion of the program including style guides
• Two iterations of the interactive wireframe for A/B testing with clinicians
• Hi-fi revisions for the clinician-side app design and functionality
• Implement 12-week educational content

High-level timeline for 5 weeks:

● Week 1 – Onboarding, and provide the content, Current App Design Walkthrough, IDP Goals, Finalize / Align IDP Plan

● Week 2 – Create lo-fi and 2 different design

● Week 3 –Interactive Wireframe / Feedback

● Week 4 – Recruitment / User testing

● Week 5 – Revision of design/ Wrap up 

We will be providing regular scheduled weekly meetings, and a kick-off meeting where we will be walking through the project details, timelines, and UI/UX tools we will be using. Also, our team will always be available to guide the IDP team.