Work

The Reproductive Mental health of Ontario Virtual Intervention Network (MOVIN): a pilot randomized controlled trial

Year: 2026

Type: article

Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial

Abstract: The Reproductive Mental health of Ontario Virtual Intervention Network (MOVIN) aims to improve perinatal depression care across a large Canadian health jurisdiction. It involves a web-based platform, care coordinator for personalized treatment planning, and psychiatrist to liaise with primary care clinicians, and provide direct consultation as needed. This was a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) of MOVIN. Participants aged ≥18 years, pregnant or within 12 months postpartum and with Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) score >12 recruited from across Ontario, Canada, were randomized 1:1 to MOVIN for 24 weeks or a control condition. The primary outcome was feasibility, inclusive of recruitment, acceptability, and research protocol follow-up. Depression symptom remission was a main secondary outcome for the pilot trial. EPDS scores and remission (EPDS ≤ 12) were compared between groups. Of 101 participants (n = 48 MOVIN; n = 53 control), 80% completed 24-week follow-up. Participant views of MOVIN were very positive (high acceptability) and multiple opportunities for protocol adjustment in a larger future study were identified. At 24 weeks post-randomization, EPDS scores were lower in MOVIN vs. controls, with a mean difference adjusted for baseline score of −2.32 (95% Confidence Interval, CI −4.23 to −0.42). At the same time point, 75.0% of the MOVIN group vs. 51.1% of controls were in remission (chi-square=4.83, p = 0.03). With high feasibility, including in recruitment, acceptability, and research protocol adherence, and preliminary suggestion of efficacy, the results of this study support proceeding to a large-scale RCT of MOVIN to definitively evaluate its efficacy at a larger scale. Depression affects up to 20% of people during and after pregnancy, but as few as 1 in 5 are treated to remission. In the Reproductive Mental health of Ontario Virtual Intervention Network (MOVIN), participants can view educational resources about depression during and after pregnancy, and receive personalized evidence-based treatment planning with a care coordinator with oversight by a psychiatrist. Automated symptom check-ins help identify when to iterate treatment plans over time. This pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) showed that MOVIN was feasible to implement and highly acceptable to participants. After 6 months, more MOVIN participants were in remission of their depression (~75%) than were participants randomized to a usual care control condition (~51%). These results support proceeding to a larger trial to definitely evaluate the MOVIN program. Vigod et al. present a pilot randomized trial of a virtual collaborative mental healthcare model for perinatal depression that aims to optimize care in a large Canadian province. They find that the intervention is feasible to implement and highly acceptable to participants, with preliminary evidence suggesting it is superior to a control condition at improving depressive symptoms.

Source: Communications Medicine

DOI: 10.1038/s43856-026-01381-4