Developing eHealth in neonatal care to enhance parents’ self‐management

Abstract

Background: Discharge from a neonatal care unit is often experienced as a vulnerable time for parents. By communicating through digital technology, it may be possible to improve the support for parents and thereby make the transition from hospital to home less stressful. Aim: To develop an eHealth device supporting the transition from hospital to home for parents with a preterm-born child in Sweden using participatory design. Method: Employing a framework of complex interventions in health care using participatory design. Parents of preterm-born infants and professionals at a neonatal department identified specific technical requirements for an eHealth device to be developed in the context of neonatal care and neonatal home care. The prospective end-users -parents and professionals -were continuously involved in the process of designing solution prototypes through meetings, verbal and written feedback, and interviews. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Technical development was carried out with the perspectives of professionals and parents in mind, resulting in an eHealth application for computer tablets. The findings from the interviews with the parents and professionals revealed three categories:The tablets felt secure, easy to use and sometimes replaced visits to hospital and at home. Conclusion:The use of participatory design to develop an eHealth device to support a safe transition from hospital to home can benefit parents, the child, the family, and professionals in neonatal care.

Access to health care perceived by parents caring for their child at home supported by eHealth—a directed approach introducing aperture

“…gov identifier: NCT04150120). A specific mobile eHealth tablet was developed to allow digital communication between parents and health care providers during the family's transition from hospital to home [15,16]. The parents' usage and experiences of eHealth for self-management, with a focus on an evaluation of the eHealth tablet, has previously been described by Lindqvist et al [16].…”

“…In addition to conventional care, the parents were given an eHealth intervention delivered as an application on an Android-based tablet through which communication could be maintained with the professionals in the hospital [15]. The eHealth tablet operated by communicating wirelessly with a remote centralized server where all data were stored securely.…”

“…The studies of parents that are available indicate an overall acceptance of eHealth within their child's health care [14]. Supporting parents with tele homecare and videocalls (eHealth) has reduced emergency visits and hospital visits, and enhanced accessibility, with many parents in the experimental groups preferring eHealth to physical visits, not the least during the Covid-19 pandemic [14,15].…”

“In a Way We Took the Hospital Home”—A Descriptive Mixed-Methods Study of Parents’ Usage and Experiences of eHealth for Self-Management after Hospital Discharge Due to Pediatric Surgery or Preterm Birth

“…The eHealth device was developed in 2016 and refined in 2017-2018, in collaboration with representatives of patient organizations, professionals at the Departments of Neonatology and Pediatric Surgery, and researchers at Lund University [21]. Child-centered care [22] and participatory design (PD) [23] were practiced throughout the development in an iterative process based on continuous collection of feedback from the users involved in the care of the child [21]. Hence, the eHealth device was developed with the perspectives of both professionals and families of patients, and specifically designed for (1) neonatal care, and (2) postoperative follow-up after reconstructions for Hirschsprung disease and anorectal malformations.…”

The effectiveness of eHealth self-management interventions in patients with chronic heart failure: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Self-management intervention is an individuals’ ability to manage personal symptoms conditions, psychological health and lifestyles by utilizing resources [ 8 , 9 ]. eHealth self-management intervention is the use of information and communications technology (ICT) to support self-management [ 8 , 10 ].…”