Digital Health Interventions for Perinatal Depression in Diverse Cultural Contexts: a Systematic Review.

purpose of reviewThis review examines the evidence on the effectiveness of digital health interventions delivered in culturally diverse settings systematically. Following PRISMA guidelines, the review reports on the features and elements of digital interventions for perinatal depression designed and delivered in culturally diverse or resource-constrained settings. A search of the most current literature (2022 - ) was conducted in May 2025 of six databases from psychology, medicine and digital health fields. Quality assessment was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute randomised controlled trial and quasi-experimental checklists.

findingsA total of 23 randomised controlled trials or quasi-experimental studies met the inclusion criteria. Studies were conducted in ten countries and employed diverse digital health interventions. Most interventions were either application or telehealth designs, with delivery starting during pregnancy and lasting for between 6 and 8 weeks. The quality of studies and reporting varied, with the lowest quality studies (n = 3) scoring ‘yes’ to less than half the items included in the quality appraisal checklists. There is growing evidence on the effectiveness of digital health interventions to prevent, identify or treat perinatal depression in diverse cultural contexts. Research into perinatal depression digital interventions is expanding rapidly as interest in and the benefits of digital interventions is understood better. Despite this, continued research on the accessibility and feasibility of these interventions in culturally diverse and low-resourced contexts is warranted.