National Implementation of Perinatal Mental Health Treatment—The MumSpace Digital Stepped-Care Model

Perinatal depression is highly prevalent, yet there is a very low rate of treatment uptake and help-seeking. The <i>MumSpace</i> Initiative was funded by the Australian government to invest in digital stepped-care treatments and support for perinatal depression, to improve mental health outcomes and national access. This paper describes the reach of the <i>MumSpace</i> initiative as a one-stop shop offering perinatal depression treatments with a solid evidence base (MumMoodBooster programmes), supported by a prevention programme addressing modifiable risk factors through a smartphone application (<i>MindMum</i>) as well as evidence-based universal prevention programmes. We have brought together multi-skilled teams and a Perinatal Depression Consortium to deliver the programmes and address changing technology. The effectiveness of <i>MumSpace</i> was evaluated through systematic monitoring of consumer reach: data analysis of website traffic and resource uptake. <i>MumSpace</i> has successfully sustained engagement, attracting over 275,000 visits since its launch in 2017, with the number of visitors to the website increasing year on year. The central treatment tools, <i>MumMoodBooster</i> and <i>Mum2BMoodBooster</i>, have reached over 10,000 Australian women, largely through self-referral. Despite the development of a portal for direct clinician referral and monitoring, continuing challenges for implementation involve integrating digital treatments into traditional services and recruiting professionals to directly engage mothers.