Session: Innovative Approaches to Identifying, Understanding, and Addressing Perinatal and Early Childhood Mental Health Needs (Society for Social Work and Research 31st Annual Conference)

Perinatal and early childhood mental health needs are a pressing public health concern. Perinatal (i.e., pregnancy through one-year postpartum) and early childhood periods pose unique mental health risks, which may be exacerbated among people with low socioeconomic position, certain racial and ethnic groups, and people in rural communities. Further, people who experience perinatal or early childhood mental health symptoms encounter multiple barriers in accessing mental health care including geographical location, employment and caregiving demands, insurance and other financial constraints, and mental health stigma. These risks and barriers to care have cascading effects, ultimately affecting both parent and childhood mental health and development.

Evidence shows that perinatal and early childhood systems lack systematic, effective mechanisms to identify and respond to mental health needs among pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age five. Research is critically needed to explore drivers of mental health symptoms, identify effective screening strategies, and investigate mental health services delivery approaches. The following five papers present findings that examine perinatal and early childhood mental health experiences, screening, and service delivery. Collectively, they expose gaps in care as well as innovative strategies for identifying and addressing mental health risks in real-world settings, with the shared goal of improving perinatal and early childhood mental health.

The first paper describes a study of an online perinatal depression screening and referral platform that included a brief help-promoting video, showing that online mental health screening and referral strategies may mitigate barriers to mental health services. The second paper compares virtual and in-person home visiting services in identifying and addressing maternal mental health and child developmental risk. Findings suggest that while virtual service delivery is associated with improved program participation and higher rates of maternal mental health screening, it is also associated with lower identification of maternal mental health risk and less optimal child developmental screening. The third paper presents a qualitative study of rural families with infants requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization, identifying stressors rural families encounter including long distances from the NICU, disruptions in social support networks, employment and caregiving demands, and limited access to mental health supports, as well as the appeal of peer support and NICU-integrated mental health services. The fourth paper describes a pilot trial of a NICU parent mental health program delivered via telehealth aimed at supporting parents through infant discharge home, showing acceptability and feasibility of the study protocol, sustained engagement, and trends that suggest potential improvements in mental health symptoms and stigma. The fifth paper describes an analysis of state-level Medicaid claims data, demonstrating low rates of developmental screening of young children in pediatric settings. It then describes a proof-of-concept program integrating behavioral health screening and intervention services in pediatrics.

These five papers collectively represent rigorous research conducted by social workers leading national conversations about perinatal and pediatric mental health equity and innovative implementation and service delivery strategies. Collectively, this work deepens understanding and will continue to drive innovation in both practice and policy that benefits the common good.