Tenfelde Kim, Antheunis Marjolijn, Krahmer Emiel, Bunt Jan Erik
Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands.
Department of Pediatrics, Elisabeth-Tweesteden Ziekenhuis, Tilburg, Netherlands.
JMIR Pediatr Parent. 2023 Feb 7;6:e38435. doi: 10.2196/38435.
The birth of a premature infant and subsequent hospitalization are stressful events for parents. Therefore, accurate and easy-to-understand communication between parents and health care professionals is crucial during this period. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have the potential to improve communication with parents at any time and place and possibly reduce their stress.
We aimed to conduct a 2-part explorative needs assessment in which the interaction between the pediatrician and parents was examined along with their digital communication technology needs and interest in an mHealth app with the aim of improving interpersonal communication and information exchange.
Overall, 19 consultations between parents of preterm infants and pediatricians were observed to determine which themes are discussed the most and the number of questions asked. Afterward, the parents and the pediatrician were interviewed to evaluate the process of communication and gauge their ideas about a neonatal communication mHealth app.
The observations revealed the following most prevalent themes: breastfeeding, criteria for discharge, medication, and parents' personal life. Interview data showed that the parents were satisfied with the communication with their pediatrician. Furthermore, both parents and pediatricians expected that a neonatal mHealth app could further improve the communication process and the hospital stay. Parents valued app features such as asking questions, growth graphs, a diary function, hospital-specific information, and medical rounds reports.
Both parents of hospitalized preterm infants and pediatricians expect that the hypothetical mHealth app has the potential to cater to the most prevalent themes and improve communication and information exchange. Recommendations for developing such an app and its possible features are also discussed. On the basis of these promising results, it is suggested to further develop and study the effects of the mHealth app together with all stakeholders.
早产婴儿的出生及随后的住院治疗对父母来说是压力重重的事件。因此，在此期间父母与医护人员之间准确且易于理解的沟通至关重要。移动健康（mHealth）技术有潜力随时随地改善与父母的沟通，并可能减轻他们的压力。
我们旨在进行一项分为两部分的探索性需求评估，其中检查儿科医生与父母之间的互动以及他们对数字通信技术的需求，还有对一款旨在改善人际沟通和信息交流的移动健康应用程序的兴趣。
总体而言，观察了19次早产儿父母与儿科医生之间的会诊，以确定讨论最多的主题以及提出问题的数量。之后，对父母和儿科医生进行了访谈，以评估沟通的过程，并了解他们对一款新生儿沟通移动健康应用程序的想法。
观察结果显示以下最普遍的主题：母乳喂养、出院标准、用药以及父母的个人生活。访谈数据表明，父母对与儿科医生的沟通感到满意。此外，父母和儿科医生都期望一款新生儿移动健康应用程序能够进一步改善沟通流程和住院体验。父母重视应用程序的功能，如提问、生长图表、日记功能、医院特定信息以及医疗查房报告。
住院早产儿的父母和儿科医生都期望这款设想中的移动健康应用程序有潜力满足最普遍的主题，并改善沟通和信息交流。还讨论了开发此类应用程序及其可能功能的建议。基于这些有前景的结果，建议与所有利益相关者共同进一步开发和研究移动健康应用程序的效果。
