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.

Keywords: computer tablets; eHealth application; neonatal care; participatory design.