Giving Voice to Parents in the Development of the Preemie Prep for Parents (P3) Mobile App

• Published in: Advances in neonatal care Vol. 20; no. 1; pp. E9 - E16
• Main Authors: Pizur-Barnekow, Kris, Kim, Una Olivia, Ahamed, Sheikh I., Hasan, Md kamrul K., Dreier, Shannon, Leuthner, Steven R., Rau, Nicole, Basir, Mir A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States by the National Association of Neonatal Nurses 01-02-2020; by The National Association of Neonatal Nurses
• Subjects: Adult; Female; Humans; Infant; Infant Care - methods; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Premature, Diseases - nursing; Intensive Care, Neonatal - methods; Male; Mobile Applications; Parents - education; Pregnancy; Prenatal Care - methods; Qualitative Research; Smartphone
• ISSN: 1536-0903; 1536-0911
• DOI: 10.1097/ANC.0000000000000669

BACKGROUND:Parents at risk for preterm birth frequently receive prematurity education when the mother is hospitalized for premature labor. Parental ability to learn and consider the information is limited because of the stress of the hospitalization. A promising approach is dissemination of information to at-risk parents before the birth hospitalization.
PURPOSE:This article describes formative research used to develop smartphone-based prematurity education app for parents at-risk for preterm birth.
METHODS:Stakeholders were parents with a prior preterm birth. Using stakeholder meeting transcripts, constant comparative analysis was used to reflect upon the parental voice.
RESULTS:The parents named the app, Preemie Prep for Parents (P3). Parent perspectives revealed desire for information in the following 5 categories. (1) Power in knowledge and controlparents want autonomy when learning information that may influence medical decision-making. (2) Content and framing of informationthey desire information from a trusted resource that helps promote prenatal health and provides neonatal intensive care information. (3) Displaying contentparents want personalization, push notifications, photographs displaying fetal development, and easy-to-understand statistics. (4) Providing information without causing harmthey desire non–value-laden information, and they do not support “gamifying” the app to enhance utilization. (5) Decision makingparents want information that would benefit their decision making without assuming that parents have a certain outlook on life or particular values.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:These findings support the need for the P3 App to aid in decision making when parents experience preterm birth.
IMPLICATIONS FOR RESEARCH:The findings highlight the need to study the effects of smartphone-based prematurity education on medical decision-making.