Remote monitoring of patient-caregiver dyadic interactions in the hospital environment: neonatal care case study

Abstract

Reports show that in 2020 approximately 3.6 million live births were recorded in the United States, with an estimated 9–13% of these infants requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission due to complex medical needs. In the NICU, the parental involvement is key to helping infants recover from medical trauma. One way to help parent-infant recover from a negative experience is by introducing Kangaroo care (KC) during their NICU stay, which involves skin-to-skin contact to help strengthen the bond between parents and infants. Past research has demonstrated the health benefits of KC for both children and parents such as infant health improvement and reduced parental stress. However, resistance from healthcare workers, lack of time from healthcare workers, difficulty in coordinating schedules between parents and needed healthcare workers, infrastructure and equipment issues are some of the barriers identified that prevent KC practice. There is a need to identify alternative healthcare monitoring systems that can be used efficiently to support the interactions between the parent-child dyad during their stay in the hospital, specifically the NICU. This thesis seeks to address the critical gap by developing a HIPPA-compliant, remote healthcare monitoring system to support positive interactions between patients and caregivers. We conducted a proof of concept experiment, utilizing video recording and sensor data collection to test the feasibility of the system with adult participants.Our study evaluated the usability and effectiveness of a health monitoring system in a simulated NICU environment, involving 30 adult participants. Quantitatively, the system was rated highly for usability, with most participants finding it easy to use and reliable. Average satisfaction levels were positive, particularly in terms of system interaction and effectiveness in facilitating parental bonding, with average scores above 8 out of 10. Qualitatively, participants appreciated the technical capabilities and adaptability of the system. Specifically participants mentioned its non-intrusive monitoring and automated features enhanced caregiving. Concerns were minimal but focused on privacy due to continuous monitoring. Overall, the system demonstrated potential to improve parent-infant interactions and reduce caregiver stress in NICU settings.