Feasibility and Acceptability of Pediatric Smartphone Lung Auscultation by Parents: Cross-Sectional Study

Catarina Santos-Silva; Henrique Ferreira-Cardoso; Sónia Silva; Pedro Vieira-Marques; José Carlos Valente; Rute Almeida; João A Fonseca; Cristina Santos; Inês Azevedo; Cristina Jácome

doi:10.2196/52540

Feasibility and Acceptability of Pediatric Smartphone Lung Auscultation by Parents: Cross-Sectional Study

JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2024 Apr 8:7:e52540. doi: 10.2196/52540.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
² Department of Pediatrics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de São João, Porto, Portugal.
³ CINTESIS - Center for Health Technology and Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁴ MEDIDA - Serviços em Medicina, Educação, Investigação, Desenvolvimento e Avaliação, Porto, Portugal.
⁵ CINTESIS@RISE, Department of Community Medicine, Information and Health Decision Sciences (MEDCIDS), Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁶ Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.
⁷ EpiUnit, Institute of Public Health, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.

PMID: 38602309
PMCID: PMC11024396
DOI: 10.2196/52540

Abstract

Background: The use of a smartphone built-in microphone for auscultation is a feasible alternative to the use of a stethoscope, when applied by physicians.

Objective: This cross-sectional study aims to assess the feasibility of this technology when used by parents-the real intended end users.

Methods: Physicians recruited 46 children (male: n=33, 72%; age: mean 11.3, SD 3.1 y; children with asthma: n=24, 52%) during medical visits in a pediatric department of a tertiary hospital. Smartphone auscultation using an app was performed at 4 locations (trachea, right anterior chest, and right and left lung bases), first by a physician (recordings: n=297) and later by a parent (recordings: n=344). All recordings (N=641) were classified by 3 annotators for quality and the presence of adventitious sounds. Parents completed a questionnaire to provide feedback on the app, using a Likert scale ranging from 1 ("totally disagree") to 5 ("totally agree").

Results: Most recordings had quality (physicians' recordings: 253/297, 85.2%; parents' recordings: 266/346, 76.9%). The proportions of physicians' recordings (34/253, 13.4%) and parents' recordings (31/266, 11.7%) with adventitious sounds were similar. Parents found the app easy to use (questionnaire: median 5, IQR 5-5) and were willing to use it (questionnaire: median 5, IQR 5-5).

Conclusions: Our results show that smartphone auscultation is feasible when performed by parents in the clinical context, but further investigation is needed to test its feasibility in real life.

Keywords: acceptance; adoption; app; applications; apps; asthma; attitude; attitudes; auscultation; breathing; child; children; crackle; crackles; ease of use; intent; lung; lungs; mHealth; mobile applications; mobile health; mobile phone; opinion; parent; parenting; parents; participation; patient participation; pediatric; pediatrics; perception; perceptions; pulmonary; questionnaire; questionnaires; respiration; respiratory; respiratory sounds; smartphone; smartphones; sound; sounds; survey; surveys; usability; wheeze; wheezes; wheezing; willingness.

© Catarina Santos-Silva, Henrique Ferreira-Cardoso, Sónia Silva, Pedro Vieira-Marques, José Carlos Valente, Rute Almeida, João A Fonseca, Cristina Santos, Inês Azevedo, Cristina Jácome. Originally published in JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting (https://pediatrics.jmir.org).