Perinatal Depression in Sexual and Gender Minorities

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Dr. Leiszle Lapping-Carr is a licensed clinical psychologist and mixed methods researcher with a specialty in sexual and reproductive health. Through the proposed Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) entitled Perinatal Depression in Sexual and Gender Minorities, she will develop into an independent researcher working to reduce health disparities for sexual and gender minorities (SGM) during the perinatal period. Dr. Lapping-Carr will use this award to receive specific training in 1) community-engaged research with SGM parents; 2) intervention adaptation frameworks and processes for specific populations; 3) implementation science; and 4) clinical trial design. This focus on intervention adaptation and implementation with SGM parents will allow her to fill gaps in her training enabling transition into an independent researcher. Her future research program will be focused on improving mental and reproductive health equity for SGM individuals through mixed methods, community-engaged research to develop, evaluate, and implement effective interventions for SGM individuals, as well as broader investigations into the prevalence and experience of SGM individuals mental health concerns related to reproductive health. Additionally, future work will include the development of clinician training programs to increase capacity to meet SGM parents’ mental health needs. Dr. Lapping-Carr will achieve these career goals through a career development plan including didactic training, mentored research experiences, direct community-based research experience, attendance at local, national, and international scientific meetings, and utilization of institutional resources. Her outstanding mentorship team includes Lead Mentor Darius Tandon, PhD and Co-Mentors Lori Ross, PhD (Methodology and SGM Health), Michael Newcomb, PhD (Community-Based SGM Health), and Katherine Wisner, MD, MS (Perinatal Psychiatric Disorders). Dr. Lapping-Carr’s research strategy incorporates two distinct studies as part of applying a systematic intervention adaptation framework that will help her to achieve the training goals described above. Specific Aim 1 will use qualitative interviews to identify determinants of perinatal wellbeing among SGM parents and describe experiences with and unmet needs in perinatal mental healthcare. Specific Aim 2 will involve the incorporation of themes identified through the qualitative study in Aim 1 to adapt an evidence-based intervention for the prevention of perinatal depression to the needs of SGM parents. Specific Aim 3 will pilot the adapted intervention to evaluate feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy. With the experience and results of these studies, Dr. Lapping-Carr will be poised to pursue an R01 grant through NIMHD to conduct a large-scale clinical trial that examines the efficacy and effectiveness of the adapted perinatal depression preventative intervention. This focus on community-engaged intervention adaptation and evaluation with SGM individuals will allow Dr. Lapping-Carr to advance the field of perinatal mental health and reduce disparities for SGM through her research and mentorship of graduate student researchers.