Perinatal AI Project
( Mental Health & AI )

Unveiling the Hidden Struggles of Mothers:
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Predict Perinatal Mental Health Conditions among Young Mothers in Developing Countries
- Exploring the Applications and Challenges

OUTSIDE OF SCOPE

The following is out of scope for APEC Ghana  but within scope for CRT :

Art & Design Competition – An art and design competition which will be used to engage the public and encourage innovative ideas regarding maternal mental health. The competition will be used as a medium to create awareness about perinatal depression and anxiety among young people aged 15 – 24 years.

WITHIN SCOPE

To engage stakeholders through  focus group discussions (FGDs), workshops and webinars.

FGD– The focus group discussion will involve ten (10) stakeholder groups .   1) perinatal women – currently pregnant women and women in the first year postpartum; 2) new mothers (non-pregnant women who are not in the perinatal period with a live birth in the past five years); 3) health professionals (who work with pregnant women and/or mothers); 4) policymakers (representing women-focused government agencies and parastatals); 5) women-focused non-governmental organizations; 6) research community (maternal health and AI researchers from post-secondary institutions and research institutes); 7) AI experts (health-focused AI-related software developers); 8) traditional/community leaders; 9) religious leaders; and 10) male household heads.

 

Workshop – An in-person workshop, in Accra, which will  be used as a platform to share the review findings and co-create localized solutions for perinatal mental health.

Webinar – To involve stakeholders from other localities in Ghana as well as the rest of the world, a webinar will be conducted to disseminate findings and facilitate panel discussions.

Perinatal AI

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project Aim (primary) To conduct a systematic review of the evidence on the prevalence of perinatal depression and anxiety (PDA), the application of artificial intelligence (AI), and the challenges associated with the adoption of AI in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). 
Project Aim (Secondary)To engage stakeholders to explore how the findings can be applied to develop strategies for the responsible and equitable implementation of AI technologies that meet the socio-cultural and contextual needs of mothers resident in LMICs 
Collaboration  Scope

10 FGD with 10 stakeholder groups consisting of of at least 7 -10 participants/ per group

1- day  in-person review/ dissemination workshop consisting of at least 70 participant

1- day Webinar consisting of at least 70 participants (including some participants from the focus group discussion)

 

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES (APEC)

10 FGD with 10 stakeholder groups consisting of of at least 7 -10 participants/ per group

1- day  in-person review/ dissemination workshop consisting of at least 70 participant

1- day Webinar consisting of at least 70 participants (including some participants from the focus group discussion)

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

 

FGD

  • The CRT will design and develop the topic guides for each of the 10- stakeholder groups.
  • The CRT and APEC will co-design facilitator notes as well as recruitment materials for the facilitators, note-takers, and participants
  • APEC will recruit and train facilitators (skilled moderators) . For each FGD, there will be two people: 1 facilitator and 1 note-taker.
  • APEC will be in charge of community entry, identification and recruitment of participants for each of the stakeholder groups
  • APEC will invite the different persons for the FGDs and will be in charge of collecting biodata and demographic information using a simple survey questionnaire and ensuring that participants complete the attendance sheet
  • APEC will coordinate the ten FGDs to be conducted in Accra, Ghana
  • At the end of the FGDs, APEC will provide the CRT with the audio recordings from the discussions, the field notes from the note-takers, the detailed transcripts from the sessions, pictures (within consent of participants and without showing their faces to prevent identification) and field report summarising the FGDs’ process.

Workshop

  • APEC will co-organise the workshop and webinar with the CRT.
  • The CRT and APEC will co-design the agenda for the workshop and webinar.
  • The CRT and APEC will advertise the events (workshop and webinar).
  • APEC will coordinate the logistics such as securing and setting up the venue, recruiting the volunteers and event team, and disseminating calls to invite domestic participants i.e., Ghanaian residents (including the FGD participants).
  • The CRT and APEC will work together to identify panelists and moderators for the workshop and webinar.

 

Webinar

  • APEC & CRT Team will co-organize a webinar after the in-person workshop to disseminate findings.
ETHICAL CLEARANCECRT will be responsible for drafting research protocol and obtaining ethical clearance from University of Ghana , College of Humanities for the project
FGD

In a short guide developed by ESCR-Net “group discussions, in particular, can strengthen organizing by stimulating collective reflections, finding agreement or helping people understand each other’s point of view. The purpose of the planned FGDs with the targeted stakeholders is to ensure a comprehensive study. The FGDs will allow the research team to engage stakeholders in a discussion regarding

  • attitudes towards and experiences of/with perinatal depression and anxiety.
  • provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of women with lived experiences of PDA and
generate critical questions to address the challenges and needs related to PDA.
Perinatal AI
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