A Community-Based Podcast Approach to Promoting Population Health Awareness of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorder Education, Resources, and Support

Background: Utah's postpartum depression rate is 14.8%, higher than the national average (12.5%). Individuals with perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) often remain untreated, primarily due to barriers to accessing maternal mental health resources. This project aimed to develop and implement an accessible, supportive, educational podcast highlighting local resources for individuals experiencing PMADs. Local Problem: Despite existing maternal mental health resources available throughout the Salt Lake Region of Utah, the perinatal population experiences multiple barriers to accessing PMAD information essential to supporting positive health outcomes. Methods: Anonymous pre- and post-intervention surveys were disseminated to perinatal individuals through a social media platform and QR-coded flyers strategically placed in community areas frequented by perinatal individuals. Chi-squared tests applied to survey data identified changes in respondents' knowledge acquisition pre- and post-intervention. Podcast analytics were used to gauge listenership and assess the efficacy of the two dissemination strategies. Intervention: The project lead developed eight episodes of a PMAD podcast to educate perinatal individuals about PMADs and how to access local PMAD resources, specifically. The dissemination of the podcast utilized two strategies: social media posts and QR-code flyers. Results: Listeners downloaded the podcast episodes 1,800 times, with 61.8% of the downloads within Utah. Utah perinatal mothers reported benefits, including zero cost, stigma reduction, increased knowledge, and accessibility to existing local PMAD resources. Of those who responded to the post-intervention survey, 39% used one of the resources discussed in a podcast episode (n = 14). Data showed a statistically significant (p < .001) increase in awareness of perinatal therapists and Postpartum Support International within the population. Conclusions: This project demonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of using a podcast to provide accessible, supportive, and educational maternal health resources to perinatal individuals. Future practice may benefit from utilizing social media platforms to effectively reach and engage perinatal individuals with PMADs while incorporating podcasts to provide validation and education.