This project seeks to improve the behavioral health of low-income mothers with children between the ages of 0-5 who receive HeadStart services in rural Lenawee County, Michigan by expanding the Head Start program’s depression screening program and offering mothers an evidence-supported, technology-assisted depression treatment. The service will be available through HeadStart, a non-stigmatizing social service settings that women and their families are already connected to. The intervention is delivered online using a smartphone, tablet, or computer, and delivers core cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) content (e.g., behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring, problem solving) in an entertaining, interesting manner, using a combination of a video-based character-driven storylines, video-based education content, and text-based content to introduce and teach CBT tools and strategies known to improve depression. Local Head Start staff and clients will be engaged as reviewers to tailor the material for a rural context, explore training needs of staff, determine the supervision model for in-home workers, provide feedback, and evaluate the program.
The Regents of the University of Michigan
2201-149721
2022