Harnessing Virtual Mom Power: Process and Outcomes of a Pilot Telehealth Adaptation of a Multifamily, Attachment-Based Intervention

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation strategies amplified racial and income-based health disparities, profoundly shifted family life, and altered delivery systems for support services. We report pilot data from a telehealth adaptation of Mom Power, an evidence-based, attachment-informed multifamily preventive intervention (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04241913). We implemented an adaption of Virtual Mom Power (VMP) with a group of economically marginalized, predominantly Black mothers and their young children (n = 9) in New Orleans, an early COVID-19 hotspot with an entrenched history of structural racism and trauma. We outline our approach to adaptation of curriculum and service delivery, using a trauma-informed lens. Maternal reports of maternal and child functioning from pre- to post-intervention were consistent with improvements in maternal depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms and child competence, comparable to outcomes from in-person trials. Feasibility and acceptability data were strong. Preliminary results and reflections on process suggest that telehealth service delivery of a multifamily preventive intervention, with attention to decreasing barriers to online access and consideration of culture and context, facilitated engagement while maintaining fidelity and effects on intervention targets. Future research using larger samples, randomized controlled design, and multi-method assessment should continue to guide dissemination of reflective, group-based telehealth parenting programs.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

Data are available by request from the first author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (K23MH119047, SG).

Notes on contributors

Sarah A. O. Gray

Sarah A. O. Gray, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist and an Associate Professor of Psychology at Tulane University, where she has a joint appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Her research and clinical interests include the developmental consequences of early life adversity, with a specific focus on intergenerational processes.

Stephanie A. Moberg

Stephanie A. Moberg, M.S., is a doctoral candidate in school psychology at Tulane University, where her current research examines how cumulative adverse experiences in preschoolers impact behavior and kindergarten readiness, both broad indicators of long-term risk.

Elsia A. Obus

Elsia A. Obus, M.S., is a doctoral candidate in school psychology at Tulane University, where her work has focused on the effects of early life stress and trauma on children’s development. She is particularly interested in parental communication strategies and on pathways to resilience for children who have experienced parental loss or incarceration.

Victoria Parker

Victoria Parker, B.S., has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Early Childhood Education from Tulane University. She is currently working as a parenting educator at the Tulane University Parenting Education Program.

Katherine L. Rosenblum

Katherine L. Rosenblum, Ph.D., ABPP, is a Professor of Psychiatry and of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Michigan, where she co-directs the Women and Infants Mental Health Program as well as the Zero to Thrive Initiative. Her interests include infant and early childhood mental health and dyadic and relationship-focused psychotherapies.

Maria Muzik

Maria Muzik, M.D., M.Sc., is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Michigan. She is also co-director of the Women and Infants Mental Health Program and the Zero to Thrive initiative. Her interests include perinatal psychiatry, and prevention and therapy targeting the mother-infant relationship and attachment disturbances.

Charles H. Zeanah

Charles H. Zeanah, Jr., M.D., is the Mary Peters Sellars-Polchow Chair of Psychiatry, Vice Chair of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Professor of Psychiatry & Pediatrics at Tulane University, where he is also the executive director of the Infant Institute. His major academic focus has been in infant mental health and adverse early experiences.

Stacy S. Drury

Stacy S. Drury, M.D., Ph.D., is the Remigio Gonzales MD Endowed Professor of Child Psychiatry and Vice Chair of Research in the Department of Pediatrics at Tulane University, where she also serves as Executive Director of the Tulane Violence Prevention Institute and Associate Director of the Tulane Brain Institute. She is also the Chief Research Officer at Children’s Hospital New Orleans. Dr. Drury conducts clinical and translational research seeking to expand our understanding of the interaction between early life experiences, stress response systems, and children’s development.