Design and development of a digital health artifact for parents of preterm or sick neonates

Abstract

Background: Digital transformation has increasingly influenced healthcare practice, introducing innovations with the potential to improve care delivery, communication, and patient outcomes. Despite these advancements, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Iceland continues to rely on traditional analog methods to collect and monitor caregiving data from parents.Objective: This study aimed to support parents and nurses in the NICU in Iceland by introducing a digital health artifact that supports data tracking, visualization, and facilitates collaboration between parents and healthcare professionals.Method: The design and development process followed the action design research methodology. Initially, the requirements were collected informally, which led to the development of a prototype that was then evaluated by nurses. In the second phase, the prototype was refined based on feedback from focus groups with nurses and parents. Once the artifact was complete, a longitudinal study was conducted with parents in the NICU. This was followed by the integration of the artifact into NICU workflows and presentation to staff to encourage adoption.Results: The initial prototype was developed based on key requirements collected during the early stages of the project. Iterative refinements, informed by focus group feedback, focused on improving usability and configurability. Although the longitudinal study provided insights into the artifact's potential, it revealed challenges with workflow integration and technical barriers that limited adoption. Despite these challenges, the integration of the artifact into the NICU processes underscored opportunities to improve operations and foster collaboration between parents and healthcare staff.Conclusion: This study highlights the value of iterative user-centered design in developing digital health solutions for specialized care environments. It underscores the importance of collaboration with end users to address their needs effectively and provides valuable information on the challenges of integrating new digital tools within complex healthcare infrastructures.