A study protocol article on the UCLA Depression Grand Challenge’s New Moms Mood Tracking & Wellbeing study was published in the journal Trials on Aug. 8, 2024. Kate Wolitzky-Taylor, PhD, is lead author; several additional DGC-affiliated researchers received authorship credit, including senior author Michelle Craske, PhD.
Study protocol and research methods are published to promote accountability, increase transparency, share best practices and encourage coordination between researchers. DGC team members submitted the protocol article to Trials in 2023 to detail the methods, design and aims of the then-active study, including intricacies such as STAND tier-switching and researchers’ plans for analyzing collected data during the study’s data analysis phase.
The New Moms study was a randomized clinical trial designed to compare the efficacy of the STAND system of care against perinatal psychiatric care in reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety for pregnant and new mothers. Study researchers recruited 167 participants from UCLA OBGYN clinics between week 28 of pregnancy and six months postpartum and placed them in one of two types of care: perinatal psychiatric care or the STAND system of care. The study concluded in February 2024 and is currently in its data analyses phase. The manuscript reporting the final outcomes is currently in preparation.
Submissions of study findings for publication to follow.
Authors: Kate Wolitzky-Taylor*, Misty C. Richards*, Amelia Welborn*, Vanessa McDonald*, Inna Arnaudova*, Scott Fears, Heather O’Mahen, Jill M. Newby, Mike Millard, Allison V. Metts*, Alan Stein, Nelson Freimer*, Michelle Craske*
*Asterisk indicates affiliation with DGC at the time of the study; current roles may vary.
