Social Media, Teen Moms and PPD

Social Media, Teen Moms, and Postpartum Depression

Approximately 400,000 live births occur to adolescents in the United States annually. Of the 50% of adolescent mothers who experience depressive symptoms, less than 25% comply with referrals for depression evaluation and treatment due to lack of knowledge of depression symptoms (literacy), negative attitude towards mental health treatment, perception that individuals with depression are stigmatized (subjective norms), lack of understanding of health resources that are available to her and under her control (perceived control), and lack of time. Social media is a promising vehicle to reach and educate adolescent mothers since most adolescent mothers use social media for communication and to search for health information. Based upon the Theory of Planned Behavior, the investigators will target 11 counties in Kentucky with a social media ad campaign that will result in adolescent mothers (n=140) from those counties enrolling in an internet based intervention related to postpartum depression. The previously tested intervention includes vignettes from other adolescent mothers, questions and answers, resources, and an option to enroll in text message service. Before the intervention, after the intervention, and two weeks later the adolescent mothers will complete established questionnaires to determine if the intervention improved attitude and subjective norms towards depression and depression treatment, perceived control and intention related to seeking depression treatment, and the number of adolescent mothers with symptoms of depression who receive depression treatment. Data will be compared to scores on the same instruments from adolescent mothers (n=140) from the control group (18 other counties in Kentucky) that have not been targeted with the social media ad campaign or participated in the intervention. Data from the adolescent mothers in the control group will be collected in partnership with community agencies. The overall purpose of this trial is to test a cost effective and feasible method for reducing the cognitive and emotional barriers to accessing depression treatment in adolescent mothers. The specific aims are to (1) measure the extent to which a social media ad campaign is effective as a recruitment strategy; (2) test the effectiveness of an internet based social marketing intervention on both intention to seek treatment and rates of depression treatment, and (3) examine the dose effect of the intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Postpartum Depression
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Use of internet based social marketing intervention; Other: No use of social media

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 287
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Kentucky
    • Carrollton, Kentucky, United States, 41008
      • Three Rivers
    • Covington, Kentucky, United States, 41011
      • Hands Program of Kenton County (Young Families of Children, Inc)
    • Elizabethtown, Kentucky, United States, 42701
      • Lincoln Trail Health Department
    • Lexington, Kentucky, United States
      • St. Joseph Hospital
    • Louisville, Kentucky, United States
      • University of Louisville Hospital
    • Newport, Kentucky, United States, 41072-0325
      • Hands Program of Boone and Campbell Counties (Every Child Succeeds)
    • Owensboro, Kentucky, United States, 42303
      • Three Rivers Health Department
    • Somerset, Kentucky, United States, 42501
      • Lake Cumberland Health Department

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 13 years to 21 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Adolescent mothers, 13-21 years of age, who delivered a live child within the last 12 months, and has their baby residing with them. For the adolescent mothers enrolled in the Internet-based social marketing intervention, they must reside in Kentucky counties of Fayette, Jefferson, Bullitt, Henry, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, Trimble, Christian, Warren or Barren. The adolescent mothers enrolled in the control group must reside in Kentucky counties of Campbell, Casey, Daviess, Boone, Nelson, Russell, Carroll, Kenton, Hardin, Hancock, Henderson, McClean, Meade, Ohio, Union, Webster, Meade or Marion

Exclusion Criteria:

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention County; Use of internet based social marketing intervention	Other: Use of internet based social marketing intervention; Eleven counties in Kentucky will be targeted with ads on Google and Facebook that direct adolescent mothers to an Internet-based social marketing intervention. The ads will be implemented using Facebook's and Google's ad network. The ads are setup, configured, and adjusted online. Facebook has identified key words that are recommended for adolescent mothers: "16 and pregnant," "teen mom,' and names of television shows with subject matter specific to adolescent mothers. We will target the ads to correspond to a geographical area that specifies a distance from the largest city in each county, and we will specify county lines. Ads will only appear on the Internet in the counties that are targeted for the intervention.
Placebo Comparator: Control County; No use of social media	Other: No use of social media; No social media ads will be available in these counties.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effectiveness of Social Marketing Intervention	How many teen mothers are enrolled in treatment programs for their depression per county? Is there a difference between counties?	2 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Number of teens seeking depression treatment	Do the teens in counties with the social media campaigns seek depression treatment more than those in the control counties.	2 years

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Intention of a adolescent to seek depression treatment	What is the association between intention to seek depression treatment and actual seeking of treatment, when controlling for baseline depression symptoms?	2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Louisville
• Collaborators: National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mimia C Logsdon, PhD, University of Louisville

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 17, 2013
• First Posted (Estimate): October 22, 2013

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): December 29, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 25, 2015
• Last Verified: December 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Health Care Quality; Access; Evaluation
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Pregnancy Complications; Puerperal Disorders; Depressive Disorder; Depression; Depression, Postpartum
• Other Study ID Numbers: 1R15NR013563-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract); R15NR013563 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)