Mothers and Babies Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial Study (MB-SMART)

Mothers and Babies Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Trial Study (MB-SMART) was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Johns Hopkins University. Conducted from 2020 to 2021, the study aimed to support mothers’ mental health and strengthen the parent child-relationship using adaptive personalized technology. The study focused on 1) testing the use of Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) to gather real-time data on mood and stress from home visiting (HV) clients, 2) evaluating randomization procedures for the study’s SMART design with 12 low-income HV clients, 3) developing and testing additional mindfulness content based on HV clients’ self-reported mood and stress, and 4) translating  Mothers and Babies text messages, ecological momentary assessment messages and mindfulness content into Spanish, and evaluating their acceptability and usefulness among Spanish-speaking home visiting clients. examined the feasibility and acceptability of using adaptive personalized technology. Partnering with three home visiting programs in Illinois and Indiana, the study enrolled 9 pregnant individuals or new mothers who were randomized to either receive Mothers and Babies 1-on-1 with a home visitor or Mothers and Babies Online (eMB Online). Participants received EMAs to monitor stress, clients that reported high-stress levels received additional messaging and Mothers and Babies content.

Principal and Co-Investigators

Darius Tandon, PhD, Alinne Barrera, 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, D., Hamil, J., & Barrera, A. (2022). A pilot study of a sequential multiple assignment randomized trial aimed at reducing depressive symptoms among home visiting clients. HARC Research Brief.