Janice H. Goodman, Ph.D., R.N.
The purpose of this project is to develop and test a novel integrated mother-infant intervention to prevent/decrease maternal postpartum depression (PPD) and associated mother-infant relationship dysfunction. After an initial development phase, a randomized controlled trial will be conducted to test the efficacy of the intervention on maternal and mother-infant relationship outcomes with 40 women identified as at risk for PPD and their infants. The home-based intervention will consist of 8 sessions delivered by trained nurses over the first 3 months postpartum and includes a mother-infant psychotherapeutic component and a developmentally-based infant-oriented component. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be used to determine intervention effects on post-intervention and follow-up outcomes.
Dr. Goodman is an Associate Professor at MGH Institute of Health Professions School of Nursing. Her research is focused on the mental health of women and families with the primary goal of developing interventions for preventing and treating maternal postpartum depression and the associated negative effects on the mother-infant relationship and child development. Dr. Goodman was recently selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Faculty Nurse Scholar. The goal of the RWJF Nurse Faculty Scholars program is to develop the next generation of national leaders in academic nursing through career development awards for outstanding junior nursing faculty. As a RWJF scholar, Dr. Goodman will develop and test a novel integrated mother-infant intervention to prevent/decrease maternal postpartum depression (PPD) and associated mother-infant relationship dysfunction.
After an initial development phase, a randomized controlled trial will be conducted to test the efficacy of the intervention on maternal and mother-infant relationship outcomes with 40 women identified as at risk for PPD and their infants. The home-based intervention will consist of 8 sessions delivered by trained nurses over the first 3 months postpartum and includes a mother-infant psychotherapeutic component and a developmentally-based infant-oriented component. Repeated measures analysis of variance will be used to determine intervention effects on post-intervention and follow-up outcomes.