Supporting the transition from hospital to home for premature infants using integrated mobile computing and sensor support

This paper reports on the requirements for, design of, and preliminary evaluation of a novel pervasive healthcare system for supporting the care of premature infants as they transition from hospital to home. In support of this system, we report the results of gesture sensing in a clinical setting and of interviews and focus groups with caregivers and clinicians who are involved in the postnatal transition to the home. From these results, we developed prototype systems for monitoring and tracking observations of behavioral and health-related data in the home, including a mobile phone-based capture and access system for caregivers, a sensing platform, and an activity recognition algorithm for automatically documenting infant movement. We describe the results of preliminary trials of both systems with an emphasis on the synergistic importance of bridging this transition. The results of these trials indicate that clinically relevant monitoring can be accomplished in the home, but there is still more to do to integrate these approaches into a comprehensive monitoring system for this population. © 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited

Supporting the transition from hospital to home for premature infants using integrated mobile computing and sensor support

This paper reports on the requirements for, design of, and preliminary evaluation of a novel pervasive healthcare system for supporting the care of premature infants as they transition from hospital to home. In support of this system, we report the results of gesture sensing in a clinical setting and of interviews and focus groups with caregivers and clinicians who are involved in the postnatal transition to the home. From these results, we developed prototype systems for monitoring and tracking observations of behavioral and health-related data in the home, including a mobile phone-based capture and access system for caregivers, a sensing platform, and an activity recognition algorithm for automatically documenting infant movement. We describe the results of preliminary trials of both systems with an emphasis on the synergistic importance of bridging this transition. The results of these trials indicate that clinically relevant monitoring can be accomplished in the home, but there is still more to do to integrate these approaches into a comprehensive monitoring system for this population. © 2011 Springer-Verlag London Limited

Maternal perceptions of infant exercise in the neonatal intensive care unit.

ObjectiveTo identify important factors that influence mothers' perceptions of engaging in exercise with their preterm infants.DesignQualitative, semistructured individual interviews.SettingNeonatal Intensive Care Unit.ParticipantsThirteen mothers of preterm infants who were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.MethodsTwo researchers conducted interviews with mothers in English or Spanish. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.ResultsMothers tended to view infant exercise as beneficial but feared for the safety of their infants. They perceived nurses as experts who could safely exercise their infants but feared that they themselves might harm their infants. Factors that influenced their beliefs included previous experiences with infant exercise and views regarding the fragility or the strength of their own infants. Mothers identified nurses, doctors, family members, and research studies as trusted sources of information on exercise efficacy and safety.ConclusionUnderstanding and addressing mothers' perceptions is a crucial component of a nursing intervention that teaches parents to do assisted exercises at home with their preterm infants

Maternal perceptions of infant exercise in the neonatal intensive care unit.

ObjectiveTo identify important factors that influence mothers' perceptions of engaging in exercise with their preterm infants.DesignQualitative, semistructured individual interviews.SettingNeonatal Intensive Care Unit.ParticipantsThirteen mothers of preterm infants who were in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.MethodsTwo researchers conducted interviews with mothers in English or Spanish. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed.ResultsMothers tended to view infant exercise as beneficial but feared for the safety of their infants. They perceived nurses as experts who could safely exercise their infants but feared that they themselves might harm their infants. Factors that influenced their beliefs included previous experiences with infant exercise and views regarding the fragility or the strength of their own infants. Mothers identified nurses, doctors, family members, and research studies as trusted sources of information on exercise efficacy and safety.ConclusionUnderstanding and addressing mothers' perceptions is a crucial component of a nursing intervention that teaches parents to do assisted exercises at home with their preterm infants

Enhancing the Construct and Content Validity of Rating Scales for Clinical Research: Using Qualitative Methods to Develop a Rating Scale to Assess Parental Perceptions of Their Role in Promoting Infant Exercise.

With a focus on the early stages of developing new assessment tools, we present an example of how researchers can apply qualitative data to the development of conceptual domains and specific items representing those domains for quantitative instruments. Specifically, our previous research examining mothers' perceptions and experiences of engaging in assisted exercise with their infants provided the foundation for the development of the Perceptions of Pediatric Activity Scale (PPAS). We describe the process we used to develop the PPAS as an exemplar for the process of incorporating qualitative data in instrument development. In addition, we address instrument development for diverse populations, and we provide examples illustrating how we extracted concepts using a concept-indicator model to construct the items in the PPAS. We conclude by noting that we are currently in the process of pilot-testing the PPAS to evaluate its utility and reliability

Enhancing the Construct and Content Validity of Rating Scales for Clinical Research: Using Qualitative Methods to Develop a Rating Scale to Assess Parental Perceptions of Their Role in Promoting Infant Exercise.

With a focus on the early stages of developing new assessment tools, we present an example of how researchers can apply qualitative data to the development of conceptual domains and specific items representing those domains for quantitative instruments. Specifically, our previous research examining mothers' perceptions and experiences of engaging in assisted exercise with their infants provided the foundation for the development of the Perceptions of Pediatric Activity Scale (PPAS). We describe the process we used to develop the PPAS as an exemplar for the process of incorporating qualitative data in instrument development. In addition, we address instrument development for diverse populations, and we provide examples illustrating how we extracted concepts using a concept-indicator model to construct the items in the PPAS. We conclude by noting that we are currently in the process of pilot-testing the PPAS to evaluate its utility and reliability