Comparing the Effectiveness of Clinicians and Paraprofessionals to Reduce Disparities in Perinatal Depression (Mothers and Babies Group Study)

The Mothers and Babies Group Study was a 3-year PCORI-funded study conducted from 2016 to 2019. The study aimed to 1) compare the efficacy of the Mothers and Babies (MB) Group intervention delivered by paraprofessional home visitors to usual care (home visiting services without Mothers and Babies) on various patient-reported outcomes such as depressive symptoms, perceived stress engagement in pleasant activities, and relationship with one’s partner, 2) conduct a noninferiority trial to determine whether the Mothers and Babies program delivered by paraprofessional home visitors was as effective as that delivered by mental health professionals (MHPs), 3) assess whether the effectiveness of the Mothers and Babies program varied based on patient characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, being a first-time mother, and the type of home visiting program (urban vs. rural), and 4) evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Mothers and Babies program when delivered by both paraprofessional home visitors and MHPs. Thirty-seven home visiting programs in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and West Virginia participated and 874 pregnant individuals were enrolled. This study was followed by the Effects of a Prenatal Depression Preventative Intervention on Parenting and Young Children’s Self-Regulation and Functioning (EPIC) study, which tracked the cohort for five years to assess long-term mental health, parenting, and child development outcomes.

Principal and Co-Investigators

Darius Tandon, PhD, Jody D. Ciolino, PhD, Jackie K. Gollan, PhD

Contact Information

For more information or questions about our study, please feel free to reach out to our Director of Research Operations: Alicia Diebold, MSW.

Publications

Tandon, S. D., Johnson, J. K., Diebold, A., et al. (2021). Comparing the effectiveness of home visiting paraprofessionals and mental health professionals delivering a postpartum depression preventive intervention: A cluster-randomized non-inferiority clinical trial. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 24(5), 629–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01112-9
Jensen, J. K., Ciolino, J. D., Diebold, A., Segovia, M., Degillio, A., Solano-Martinez, J., & Tandon, S. D. (2018). Comparing the effectiveness of clinicians and paraprofessionals to reduce disparities in perinatal depression via the Mothers and Babies course: Protocol for a cluster-randomized controlled trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 7(11), e11624. https://doi.org/10.2196/11624
Diebold, A., Ciolino, J. D., Johnson, J. K., Yeh, C., Gollan, J. K., & Tandon, S. D. (2020). Comparing fidelity outcomes of paraprofessional and professional delivery of a perinatal depression preventive intervention. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 47(4), 597–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-020-01022-5
Diebold, A., Segovia, M., Johnson, J. K., et al. (2020). Acceptability and appropriateness of a perinatal depression preventive group intervention: A qualitative analysis. BMC Health Services Research, 20(1), 189. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-5031-z
Johnson, J. K., Diebold, A., Yeh, C., Ciolino, J. D., & Tandon, S. D. (2022). Examining participant dosage and skill utilization associated with receipt of a perinatal depression preventive intervention. Prevention Science, 23(7), 1241–1250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-022-01395-z
Ciolino, J. D., Diebold, A., Jensen, J. K., et al. (2019). Choosing an imbalance metric for covariate-constrained randomization in multiple-arm cluster-randomized trials. Trials, 20(1), 293. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13063-019-3324-5
Organ, M., Tandon, S. D., Diebold, A., Johnson, J. K., Yeh, C., & Ciolino, J. D. (2021). Evaluating performance of covariate-constrained randomization (CCR) techniques under misspecification of cluster-level variables in cluster-randomized trials. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 22, 100754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2021.100754