Abstract

Video-Feedback Interaction Guidance for Improving Interactions between Depressed Mothers and Their Infants (VID-KIDS) program was designed to improve maternal-infant interactions using video feedback. VID-KIDS, developed as an in-home parenting support program, was being tested in a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) among mothers with depression living in Southern Alberta, Canada, when the pandemic forced researchers to halt the study in response to public health restrictions. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented strains on parents impacted by depression, partially because parents are reluctant to see mental health service providers in their home or at a clinic due to fears of infection. The pandemic highlighted the importance of providing parents with online access to parenting and mental health programs to ensure that already vulnerable families can obtain support to manage their mental health illnesses in a safe manner. The purpose of this article is to report on the process of co-designing and developing VID-KIDS with nurse facilitators and mothers affected by postpartum depression (PPD) for virtual delivery. We employed user-engaged design methods to better understand and apply user design preferences and needs in the creation of the online application. In this study, researchers, software developers, nurses, and mothers contributed in all four phases of the design and development of a unique platform for the virtual delivery of a nursing intervention to support vulnerable families in the context of COVID-19.