Women Supporting Women Zoom: Outcomes of online supportive/educative groups for diverse women experiencing depression and anxiety

Abstract

Background

Women are predisposed to elevated levels of depression and anxiety. In the context of long-term academic-community partnerships with three urban, racially/ethnically diverse, under-resourced neighborhoods and via community-based participatory research, supportive/educative groups, called Women Supporting Women (WSW), were developed as a solution to lessen depression and anxiety experienced by women residents. These in-person groups were launched in 2012 and evidence-based as of 2018. The instance of COVID, coupled with several persistent barriers, led to the subsequent development of WSW Zoom.

Methods

This study employed a pretest-posttest design to determine the efficacy of WSW Zoom.

Results

WSW Zoom resulted in statistically significant reductions in depression and anxiety symptoms and increases in depression and anxiety knowledge for self-care scores from pre-WSW to post-WSW and held to the six-month post-WSW juncture. Participants were very satisfied with the WSW Zoom experience. These results are compared to the 2018 WSW in-person study which also demonstrated statistically significant outcomes.

Conclusions

The ability to offer evidence-based WSW in either an in-person or online format may be a viable strategy for enhancing access to care for vulnerable women.