An Intersectional Look at Use of and Satisfaction with Digital Mental Health Platforms: A Survey of Perinatal Black Women

In the United States (U.S.), Black women in the perinatal period disproportionately experience higher rates of mental health challenges like anxiety and postpartum depression. Digital platforms present promising opportunities for mental health support. However, the extent to which these tools are being adopted and satisfying the mental health needs amongst perinatal Black women is underexplored. To address this gap, we surveyed 101 pregnant and postpartum Black women in the U.S. Despite prior work showing low utilization of mental health services amongst Black women, our results show more than half of our participants using specific digital tools for mental health support (e.g., mobile apps and social media). Importantly, use and satisfaction with these tools varied by subgroups (e.g., income and education level). We use our findings to present recommendations for digital mental health intervention research that incorporates an understanding of intersectional identities during the perinatal period.