Virtual Engagement of Mothers with Mental Illness and Substance Use in the Context of COVID-19

Background: COVID-19 is having a profound impact on the way people engage with each other and on the notion of community. Virtual engagement has never been more important, given the requirements for physical distancing to avoid transmission of the virus. Mothers of childbearing age with mental illness and substance use are a high-risk group, likely to be even more vulnerable during this stressful time. Proposed Solution: The project team is uniquely positioned to rapidly leverage the Maternal Mental Health Research Collaborative (MMHRC) of mothers with mental illness and substance use, providers, and researchers to build out the infrastructure and tools to support virtual community engagement, research implementation, and knowledge dissemination. Using the experience-based co-design participatory research approach, stakeholders will reflect on their experiences, identify priorities, and implement innovation. Objectives: Help communities increase capacity to participate in all phases of PCOR/CER by preparing the Virtual Community Engagement Studio Toolkit Summarize new research questions and evidence needs across mothers, providers, and researchers in community engagement memos Implement dissemination strategies as recommended by stakeholders and compiled in the MMHRC Virtual Community Engagement Strategy