# Development and Pilot Test of an mHealth Interactive Education and Social Support Intervention for Improving Postnatal Health

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $225,571

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Postnatal health care is associated with reduced maternal and neonatal mortality, and results in improved rates
of exclusive breastfeeding, immunization, and postnatal contraceptive use. Evidence from group care models
such as Centering Pregnancy suggest social support may play an important role during perinatal care, but has
not yet been extended to the postnatal period. Common logistical challenges of transportation and scheduling
are exacerbated in India, our project site, by rural geographic distances, cultural and linguistic barriers to care,
women's practice of postnatal seclusion and generally low levels of mobility in marriage; all combine to
significantly reduce care postnatal care access. The current proposal seeks to develop a mobile interactive
education and support group intervention, Maa Shishu Swasthya Sahayak Samooh (MeSSSSage), to improve
the health and well-being of Indian women and infants in the postnatal period using a provider-moderated group
approach. MeSSSSage will provide culturally and age tailored educational programming, increase women's
health-related discussion with providers, refer women in a timely and appropriate manner, and connect them
with a virtual social support group of other new mothers. The two-phase development of the intervention will
include exploratory development on functions and platforms and a mixed-methods randomized pilot study using
a factorial design of the specific intervention functions and platforms confirmed. The aims of this project are as
follows: Aim 1. To develop optimal intervention functions, processes, and mHealth platforms for education and
peer support among postnatal women in rural India; Aim 2. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of the
optimized intervention; and Aim 3. To explore the preliminary effectiveness of the optimized intervention
components on six-month maternal and neonatal health outcomes. This formative study uses a systematic, user-
centered and experience-driven design approach to developing an mHealth educational and social support
intervention, and the results will inform the most acceptable, feasible, and potentially efficacious intervention
design to be robustly tested through an R01 mechanism to assess effectiveness for maternal and infant health
outcomes, explore other research questions relevant to mHealth intervention scale-up for postnatal South Asian
women, and explore generalizability across populations.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9957717
- **Project number:** 1R21HD101786-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** NADIA GRIFFI DIAMOND-SMITH
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $225,571
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2022-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9957717

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9957717, Development and Pilot Test of an mHealth Interactive Education and Social Support Intervention for Improving Postnatal Health (1R21HD101786-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9957717. Licensed CC0.

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