Using telenursing to track postpartum mental health in underserved areas: A review

Introduction: Postpartum mental health issues—including depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorders—are among the leading causes of maternal morbidity, particularly in underserved and rural communities with limited access to mental health services. Geographic isolation, stigma, and shortages of specialized providers often delay screening and intervention. Telenursing, as a branch of telehealth, enables remote monitoring, counselling, and follow-up by trained nurses through video consultations, phone calls, or mobile applications. It provides an innovative, cost-effective solution to bridge care gaps for vulnerable postpartum women. This review aims to synthesize recent evidence on the role and effectiveness of telenursing in tracking and improving postpartum mental health outcomes in underserved populations. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was carried out to find articles published between January ۲۰۱۵ and September ۲۰۲۵ in PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and ScienceDirect. Studies assessing the use of telenursing treatments for postpartum psychological screening, monitoring, or follow-up using quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches met the inclusion criteria. Review articles, editorials, and research unrelated to nursing-led or postpartum therapies were among the exclusion criteria. Population characteristics, technology type, follow-up frequency, study design, and reported mental health outcomes were among the extracted data. Results: Twenty-four studies in all, comprising three qualitative, six mixed-method, and fifteen quantitative designs, satisfied the inclusion criteria. Telenursing interventions were consistently found to promote patient participation, continuity of care, and early diagnosis of postpartum depression. Nurses who regularly followed up remotely via video or app-based platforms improved screening accuracy and decreased the severity of symptoms by providing prompt support and recommendations. Research showed that emotional support, educational counselling, and structured nurse-patient contact were important variables affecting favorable results. However, issues including insufficient internet access, limited digital literacy, and privacy concerns were commonly mentioned in areas with little resources. There are methodological flaws in the few research that employed long-term follow-up or standardized psychometric instruments. Conclusions: Telenursing represents a feasible and effective strategy to monitor and support postpartum mental health in underserved communities. By integrating remote nursing assessments with digital tools, healthcare systems can extend mental health services beyond traditional clinical boundaries, ensuring continuous, personalized, and stigma-free support for new mothers. Nonetheless, further high-quality, longitudinal studies are needed to determine optimal intervention models, evaluate cost-effectiveness, and ensure cultural and technological adaptability. Strengthening digital infrastructure and nursing training in telecommunication skills will be essential for successful implementation and sustainability of telenursing-based postpartum care programs.

کلیدواژه ها:

Telenursing ، Postpartum depression ، Maternal mental health ، Telehealth ، Underserved populations