Young mothers and eHealth: a scoping review

PurposeYoung mothers, defined as those age 25 and under, are at an increased risk of experiencing mental health problems. Despite this increased risk, very few mental health and parenting interventions that target the unique needs of this group are available. This scoping review summarized extant research on mental health and parenting eHealth interventions aimed at young mothers.MethodsCINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, and PubMed databases were used for searches, and articles were screened using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage method for scoping reviews. The eligibility criteria included being peer-reviewed, written in English, published between January 1, 2000, and May 9, 2024, and being an eHealth program targeting mental health and/or parenting skills for women-identifying mothers under the age of 26.ResultsAfter duplicate removal, 3,431 titles and abstracts were screened, and 112 articles moved to full-text review. Four studies were included, each assessing intervention components, targeting mental health and parenting, and outlining participant feedback on the treatment. Each study evaluated a different type of intervention, with depression being the most studied mental health outcome and coping skills being the most studied parenting outcome.ConclusionPreliminary findings suggest that eHealth features such as flexibility, text messaging, and peer support are appreciated among young mothers. Further research on mental health and parenting eHealth interventions aimed at addressing the needs of young mothers is needed. This scoping review included four studies with different intervention designs.Depression was the most commonly measured outcome.High variation in assessments, small sample sizes, and limited controls hinder generalizability.There is a need for more research on mental health and parenting eHealth programs for young mothers.