Perinatal mental health of women in the LGBTI community: Experiences and insights on the design of the e-perinatal App [Póster]

4 3 2 1 FOCUS GROUPS SESSIONS INDUCTIVE APPROACH + DEDUCTIVE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK RECRUITMENT OF PARTICIPANTS AND DESIGN OF THE SCRIPTS Inductive approach to explore O1 (experiences, demands and needs of LGBTI women during the perinatal period). Deductive theoretical framework to explore O2 (redefine and co-design a prototype of the ePerinatal app). Available evidence related to the perinatal period and engagement with apps during this period. Recruitment: Online difussion in social media and social networks, contact with LGBTI associations in Spain, snowball strategy. Focus Group Interview scripts. Preparation of the presentation and app description. Signture of informed consents by participants Health status - Mental health during perinatal period Psychoeducational content - Involve and enhance non-birthing parents USER RELATED THEMES PROGRAM RELATED THEMES USER EXPERIENCE (UX) RELATED THEMES Phone calls with participants to set participation in online focus groups. Mothers Focus group & Professionals Focus Group. Presentation of the group and prototipe of the e-Peinatal app 1. 2. Questions related to O1 3. Questions related to O2 INTRODUCTION OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was twofold: O1) To explore the specific experiences, demands, and needs of women self-identified as part of the LGBTI community during the perinatal period. O2) To re-define and co-design with them the prototype of e-Perinatal App, a mental health intervention to prevent perinatal mental health problems in women. (1) Universidad Loyola Andalucía, Seville, Spain (2) Universidad de Sevilla, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBIS), Seville, Spain Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research Guidelines (COREQ; Tong et al., 2007) Verbatim transcriptions of audio recordings. Blind coding to assure confidenciality. Qualitative data analyses through thematic analysis using NVivo (21). Inter-coder agreement on themes and subthemes to assure reliability and validity of coding and interpretation of results METHODS RESULTS Age (Min. - Max.): 36 - 41 Gender: 5 women Pregnancy role: 4 gestant mothers; 1 non-gestant mother Date of FG: January 2024 Format: online n = 12 PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH OF WOMEN IN THE LGBTI COMMUNITY: EXPERIENCES AND INSIGHTS ON THE DESIGN OF THE E-PERINATAL APP Cáceres, Isabel (1), de-Juan-Iglesias, Paula (2), Nieto-Casado, Francisco J. (2) & Motrico, Emma (2) HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS PERINATAL WOMEN The sample consisted on 17 participants, comprising LGBTI perinatal women and health care professionals, organized into two focus groups. 60 minutes per group Age (Min. - Max.): 31 - 45 Gender: 9 female; 3 male Date of FG: May 2024 Format: online REFERENCES “Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or ERCEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them" (ERC Starting Grant: 101042139). [email protected] - [email protected] The perinatal mental health of women belonging to the LGBTI community has been underexplored in research. Previous studies suggest that LGBTI woman might face aditional risk factors during their perinatal period, such as previous conception problems, prior mental health difficulties, discrimination, or social stigma (Howat et al., 2023; Marsland et al., 2021). Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, preventive interventions for perinatal mental health problems have not usually considered the specificities of this population. This study is part of the “e-Perinatal” project funded by the European Research Council. Its objective is to generate scientific evidence to establish the effectiveness of universal preventive interventions for maternal PMD and for their implementation as normalized routine practice in health care services. VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTION & DATA ANALYSES n = 5 This work has helped to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences and needs of LGBTI women during the perinatal period. Preliminar analyses revealed that the motherhood of these women is often associated with conception treatments and procedures, previous gestational losses, experiences of discrimination and stigma both in their families, community and society, and also with the role of the non-gestant mother and gender issues, some of which have also been highlighted in previous research (Lewkowitz et al., 2023). Focus groups have also helped redefine and co-design certain aspects of the e-Perinatal app prototype, making it more inclusive for these families. This preliminar analysis identified 12 themes and 29 sub-themes, including aspects related to the importance of mental health during the perinatal period, the need to involve and enhance non-birthing parents, the use of inclusive language, and the inclusion of images that represent the diversity of women and families in society. CONCLUSIONS O1. Experiences and needs of LGBTI woman during the perinatal period. O2. Re-definition and co-design of a prototype of the e-Perinatal App. Experience of conception procedures and previous gestational losses "I think motherhood is hard in itself, but gestational losses make it even more complicated” Social stigma and social discrimination “the main complaint is the perception that they feel discriminated against, right? Based, to some extent, on the assumption that we all make and we all get into that if you are a mother it is because there is a father, right?” Role of non-gestant mother and gender issues “She felt that she didn't know very well what her figure was. We talked to a couple, well, who are father and mother, and the father said: "well, the father figure is to take the anoraks, take care of the mother and carry as much weight as possible. (...) And of course we said: "Well, what is the role of XXX, my wife, in this case?” “My mother had postpartum depression and I was very afraid of having postpartum depression and I also didn't have... anyone who could help me, information that they could give me about...” “I think there has to be content that is shared and then, if possible, some kind of content that I, as a pregnant mother, as a non-pregnant mother, can access. Specific, right?” Design format - Inclusive language and wording in app “I would say that in the text as a family, as parental, I would avoid the word father and talk about families” Visual Design - Images representing diversity of women and families “So that they are not only diverse, but also real dark circles under the eyes, uh normal clothes, messy. All this I think helps us a lot to relax the, the demand” Howat et al. (2023). Non-birthing mothers’ experiences of perinatal anxiety and depression: Understanding the perspectives of the non-birthing mothers in female same-sex parented families. Midwifery, 120, 103650. Lewkowitz et al. (2023). Association between nonbirthing parent’s perinatal education and mental health support desires and perinatal anxiety among either parent. American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 5, 101177 Marsland et al. (2021). Prevalence and risk factors associated with perinatal depression in sexual minority women. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 1-11.