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Postpartum depression study app expands to Android, Canada
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The University of North Carolina recently launched a version of PPD ACTTM, a mobile app-based study of postpartum depression, for Android operating systems.
Previously, PPD ACTTM was available for iOS only, but is now available in the U.S. and Australia for Android devices and in Canada for iOS devices.
The app surveys women with symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and invites certain women to provide DNA samples so researchers can study genes in women affected by PPD.
Approximately 14,000 women enrolled in the study during the app’s first year.
“The participation from the first year of the study is astounding and, frankly, unprecedented in terms of using the social media platform of an app to recruit women for study participation involving the donation of genetic samples,” study researcher Samantha Meltzer-Brody, MD, MPH, of the University of North Carolina Center for Women's Mood Disorders, said in a press release. “Launching the Android version in the U.S. and Australia and expanding into Canada allows for an even larger group of women the opportunity to share their experiences so that we can more effectively diagnose and treat PPD in the future.”
The U.S. version of the app now includes a module to help researchers better understand the burden of PPD on quality of life, maternal function, bonding, and health care service use.
Researchers have a goal to gather 50,000 samples from across the world through continued expansion of app availability.
“Until now, the impact of PPD on individuals, their families, and society has been poorly understood. This research, undertaken by the University of North Carolina, Sage and our collaborators, helps to provide a new, real-world, data-driven understanding of the disease burden postpartum depression patients experience and of their healthcare utilization,” Steve Kanes, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Sage, said in a press release. “We are very excited to collaborate with the University of North Carolina in helping to further study the functional and economic impact of this complication of pregnancy.”