Project Description
Building a Safety Net for New Moms
Watch this video and hear from a nurse on the success of Mom’s Heart Matters, how it saved one mother’s life and helped many others avoid adverse events.
Mom’s Heart Matters (MHM) is an interactive digital therapeutic designed to reduce the disproportionately high hypertension-related mortality rate among postpartum women of color. The program utilizes Bluetooth enabled blood pressure cuffs combined with personalized delivery of health management resources to address clinical needs and social determinants of health to enable better health management.
MHM was launched in January 2023 in Hinesville, Georgia and created in partnership between Georgia Family Connection Partnership, Amerigroup, Georgia OBGYN Society, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Liberty Regional Medical Center with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
| CLIENT OVERVIEW | |
|---|---|
| Website | https://gafcp.org/ |
| GoMo Health Solutions | Personal Concierge™ Care Companion™ GoMo Chat™ |
Our Goals
Reduce:
Hypertension-related maternal mortality
Health disparities caused by social determinants of health
Postpartum depression
Emergency department visits
Hospital readmissions
Improve:
HEDIS measures
Patient satisfaction
Increase:
Enrollment in the hospital’s cardiovascular health program
Breastfeeding initiation and continuation
Confidence in caring for self and baby
Maternal wellbeing and overall functioning
GoMo Health leveraged its proprietary emerging science, BehavioralRx, the science of precision health, to build the program and determine the engagement strategy, approach and content delivered.
The following behavioral and cognitive techniques were applied:
Reduction Technology / Persuading through simplifying.
Tailoring Technology / Persuasion through customization.
Nurturing Technology / Guided persuasion.
Conditioning Technology / Reinforcing target behavior.
Environment of Need Technology / Intervening at the right time.
Meeting Mothers of Color Where They Are
High blood pressure is a leading cause of death in postpartum woman – especially women of color. The MHM program coordinates care, utilizing technology to break down some of the common barriers to care for this vulnerable population. Support and resources cover a wide range of topics that address:
- Cardiovascular care and hypertension
- Mental health, substance use, and wellbeing
- Breastfeeding education
- Nutrition optimization
- Maintenance of health and insurance coverage, access to care, navigation of a complex and fragmented healthcare system
Monitoring Moms’ Journeys to Save Lives
The blood pressure cuffs offer real-time remote monitoring of moms, digitally communicating “risky readings” to the clinical care team for immediate intervention and avoidance of potential adverse events. Clinicians can view data and participants’ changing health status in real-time, effectively informing diagnoses and interventions to improve outcomes.
“This is a wonderful program, and it really has made a huge difference. Even if you can save one mom, it is priceless. She can now watch her child graduate high school – you can’t put money on that.”
In addition to the real-time collection of blood pressure readings, the program also screens for depression (PHQ-2 and PHQ-9) and substance use (Barkin Index of Maternal Functioning) through surveys accessible via text message and conducts monthly check-ins of overall maternal wellbeing. Based on participant responses, patient feedback and questions can be escalated to care teams for triage or they can be provided with local resources that address barriers to care.
Additional care tracks include support in the following areas:
- General cardiac wellness
- General postpartum wellness
- Mental wellness
- Exercise and nutrition
- Breastfeeding
- Reproductive health and family planning
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