A systematic review of mHealth application interventions for peripartum mood disorders: trends and evidence in academia and industry.

In this review, we aim to summarize research findings and marketplace apps for women with perinatal mood disorders with the goal of informing clinicians and patients about current risks and benefits, as well as proposing clinical implementation advice and a harmonized agenda for both academic and industry advancement in this space. Multiple searches were run of academic databases in 2018-2020, examining literature on mobile apps for peripartum mental health. Multiple searches were also run of the iOS and Android app stores in 2019 and 2020, looking at apps for peripartum mental health. Results were compared within the academic dataset as well within the commercial app dataset; the two datasets were also examined for overlap. The academic search results were notable for small sample sizes and heterogeneous endpoints. The app store search results were notable for apps of generally poor quality (as assessed by a modified Silberg scale). Very few of the mHealth interventions studied in the academic literature were available in the app store; very few of the apps from the commercial stores were supported by academic literature. The disconnect between academically developed apps and commercially available apps highlights the need for better collaboration between academia and industry. More collaboration between the two approaches may benefit both app developers and patients in this demographic moving forwards. Additionally, we present a set of practice guidelines for mHealth in perinatal psychiatry based on the trends identified in this review.