‘We get overlooked in the health care system’ –Needs for Supporting Postpartum Symptom Self-Monitoring for Black Women: A Qualitative Interview Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Pregnancy-related death is on the rise in the United States, and there are significant disparities in outcomes for Black women. Most solutions addressing climbing pregnancy-related death rates are hospital based and rely on women recognizing symptoms and seeking care from a health system, which is an area where many black women have reported experiencing bias. OBJECTIVE To determine design needs an mHealth patient reported outcome and decision support system to assist Black women in determining when to seek medical care for concerning postpartum symptoms. METHODS We conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 obstetric health professionals, 10 mental health professionals, and 11 postpartum Black women. Our questions pertained to current practices for symptom monitoring, barriers, facilitators, design, and informational needs for and mHealth system to support monitoring for severe symptoms. RESULTS Our findings revealed the importance of including both somatic and psychological symptoms in the system; considering how external drivers (e.g., sociocultural, financial, structural) may affect how women process, make decisions about, and act upon their symptoms; and that system design should allow different interaction pathways and personalization. CONCLUSIONS Future solutions for postpartum symptom monitoring should include both somatic and psychological symptoms and allow for varied, safe different interactions to suit individual needs. CLINICALTRIAL Not applicable