UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A group of Penn State students is working to support a global initiative to redefine Black motherhood.

Blending interdisciplinary expertise from across the University, the students are building a mobile health application designed to support the mental and physical health of Black moms. They’ve partnered with Chicago-based MOMLogics to conduct market research and lead focus groups to understand the unique challenges that Black mothers face. Using the information they’ve collected, the students are developing a prototype for a mobile app that will use machine learning to provide preventative and intervention programming to those mothers.

“There is not an app like this out there,” said Erica Morse, a third-year student studying biobehavioral health (BBH). “It felt good to research and try to better the health and wellness of Black mothers.”

The idea for the app came from Lavelle Smith Hall, founder and chief MOM at MOMLogics, an online platform that supports and advocates for the emotional and mental wellness of Black mothers through courses, coaching, membership, events and ambassadorship.

“If you’re taking care of the Black mom in all aspects, you’re not just taking care of her; you’re taking care of her family and you’re taking care of a community,” said Hall.

Hall developed the idea for MOMLogics in 2018, after she had become known as the resource mom in her community — the one whom others frequently turned to for advice on schools or tutoring services or extracurricular activities.

Around the same time, Hall’s good friend died after having three heart attacks at the age of 47. To Hall, her friend was in the prime of her life and had no underlying health conditions. However, it soon became clear that there was more beneath the surface. Her friend — who left behind four children — had previously been diagnosed with diabetes and didn’t share the news with her friends.

“I realized that she was dealing with some health issues that impacted things emotionally,” said Hall. “Since I was a resource mom to many, I started realizing that her story aligned with others’ in a consistent pattern: A Black mom struggles in many areas — work, health, children, families, spouses, relationships and finances — and she carries so much and suffers in silence because she’s so often judged. And she feels like if she shares it, she’ll be even more alienated because she’s expected to carry it all.”

Her friend’s death inspired Hall to take action to prevent other Black moms from suffering in silence by creating a safe space to connect with and talk to others facing similar challenges. From there, a social community was born.

Hall brought local Black moms together to listen to keynote speakers, participate in table talk discussions and learn about various parenting pain points from experts in the field. They had fun, with events like Pajama Mama Jams and holiday parties, and serious talks on important topics, such as money and financial literacy, health and wellness, and “how to keep going when you’re falling apart inside.”

“The stereotype is that a Black mom is a bonnet-wearing, single, welfare recipient. There is also this intercultural pressure to be a supermom — we want to do it all on our own and we don’t need any support or help,” said Hall. “There are myths that MOMLogics really wants to shake up and debunk, so we can show up in the way that we truly are: moms who are not superhuman but have super hearts and want to care for our babies.”

Penn State helps bring an idea to life

As the demand for the MOMLogics community and resources grew beyond Chicago, so did the need for Hall to be able to reach Black moms across the country. She wanted to provide them with an app featuring preventative and interventional programming as they face the mental and emotional stress of parenting. While she had the idea, neither she nor anyone else on the MOMLogics team had the technical experience or resources to create it.

Enter Penn State. Thanks to a connection made through Penn State’s partnership with the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center, Hall was matched with Surge Community Consulting. 

Surge was founded in 2010 by Penn State alumnus Kerry Small to give Penn State students hands-on experience while helping to support small startups. In the last 13 years, more than 300 students have completed internships at Surge — with more than 170 of those students bringing technological expertise from the College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST).

“I wanted to help make a difference for students and help them in a way that they might not find elsewhere,” said Small. “I try to build the internship program to complement what they learn in school, setting the stage to develop meaningful relationships and skills that make them workforce ready.”

When Small learned of MOMLogics’ request to build an app, he knew that he could form an interdisciplinary team of skilled students to help make it a reality. In summer 2021, he gathered a team of students who worked together to conduct initial market research to determine consumer needs and design an initial app based on those customer specifications. Then, a new team of students from the College of IST and the College of Health and Human Development (HHD) took over last fall, using skills they learned in their respective disciplines to bring the app to life.

They conducted empathic inquiries — a human-centered design approach to fully understand users and their needs — and led focus groups to dive deeper into what challenges Black moms face and how the MOMLogics app could help them.

That opportunity to lead in-depth consumer focus groups was made possible thanks to Penn State donor support. Jeffrey Goldberg, who earned a bachelor’s degree in management science and information systems and co-founded the Napa-based commercial winery, Sky Devil Wines, established the Sky Devil Wines Innovation Fund in the College of HHD to foster risk-taking innovation and bold ideas and help provide resources to cover costs associated with taking student ideas to market. That funding helped support travel and resources needed to conduct thorough market research, helping students fully understand and embrace the needs of Black moms to be able to deliver a positive and relevant user experience.

“Within my BBH courses I have learned that the reasons for health (issues) are not always answered through biology,” said Morse. “There are other psychological and social factors, for example, that also play into what an individual’s overall health is.”

An interdisciplinary collaboration

Morse and other students on the team used knowledge collected through their research on reasons why Black moms are more susceptible to certain diseases to frame thoughtful interview questions to understand why they often feel stressed and overwhelmed.

“The purpose was to dive deeper and hear what Black moms go through in their daily lives and how it may impact their overall health,” said Morse. “We asked questions about what types of apps they use, what is currently overwhelming in their lives, and how those (problems) could be minimized in the form of an app.”

College of IST students used that information to finalize an app prototype for MOMLogics. Plans are in the works for a professional developer to move the app forward to market this spring.

“We condensed the app to only have a few features that moms needed in order to help prevent or caution them on their mental or physical health,” said Eric Weah, who served as team lead last fall.

Weah not only brought technical skills he has learned at Penn State to the project; he also applied soft skills he’s gained.

“Throughout my time in the IST program I have been able to work in teams, which allowed me to be comfortable in being the team lead for this project,” said Weah. “Being in the IST program has also allowed me to quickly understand and work with new applications and software, as well as to be able to translate more technical concepts to someone who may not be so technical.”

For Amanda Gwinn, a fourth-year student studying security and risk analysis through Penn State World Campus, the experience has enhanced what she’s learned in her courses and broadened her knowledge in other areas.

“We did research on health disparities among moms from different racial backgrounds as well as struggles that Black moms face with getting mental health support,” said Gwinn, who is serving as the MOMLogics team lead this spring. “We also looked for opportunities to help MOMLogics reach their target audience beyond the app — such as promotions on their social media.”

Further, the project helped Gwinn to hone her organizational and leadership skills — including leading and scheduling remote meetings across time zones, providing informed recommendations to the client, and presenting research findings.

“The skills I’ve gained in project management, planning and leading a team — trying to keep everyone motivated and moving forward—are all skills that I will carry over into my career,” Gwinn said.

The goal of the app, according to Hall, is to learn the individual moms who use it and provide them with preventative programming and interventions to keep them healthy. It also includes a legacy piece that can be passed down to her children upon her death. The final prototype includes four main features: a journal, for users to record their thoughts and information safely and securely; a community piece, which serves as a safe space for users to communicate, socialize and support one another; coaching, connecting users with MOMLogics coaches for further guidance; and tracking, to monitor key areas of physical health and wellness, such as fitness, diet and mental health.

“The most rewarding part of working on this project was tying a lot of things I learn in my BBH courses to help create an app for women and mothers that look like me,” concluded Morse. “I enjoyed meeting the moms and hearing how much they go through and how their health often comes last because of all the responsibilities they have. I hope my research and assistance with this project is one step to changing that narrative.”

This story is informational in nature and should not be considered an endorsement of any product or application.