Engaging Stakeholders in Perinatal Depression Research in the Context of COVID-19

Background: Depression during the perinatal period affects 12 percent of women in the United States and can be a major pregnancy complication, causing adverse outcomes for both mothers and their infants if left untreated. Thus, addressing perinatal depression must be a national priority. The COVID-19 pandemic has created several barriers to accessing treatment, such as the closing of healthcare facilities, the lack of childcare, over-reliance on the internet, the suspension of home visiting programs, and furloughs for primary care providers, to name a few. The rate of births has not decreased. At the same time, the need for effective mental health treatments has only increased as the pandemic increases mental health challenges. Proposed Solution to the Problem: Alongside its patient partners, the project team will design novel virtual/distanced ways to increase stakeholder participation in PCOR/CER research in spite of the barriers to engaging in the era of social distancing. Objectives: The proposed research engagement project will use multiple methods to engage participants in PCOR/CER and build the capacity to engage stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic.