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Cardiovascular Engineering

Cardiovascular Engineering - Poster Session E

Poster U8 - Wearable Technology in Pediatric Cardiac Care: A Scoping Review of Parent Comfort and Acceptance

Saturday, October 26, 2024
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST
Location: Exhibit Hall E, F & G

Introduction:  Wearable devices hold significant potential for monitoring post-surgical cardiac patients at home, thereby reducing hospital stay-associated costs. Over the past two decades, wearable technology has rapidly evolved, attracting considerable attention from both general consumers and the medical community. Despite this progress, the human-centered design of these devices, particularly those informed by clinical trials, remains relatively understudied. In pediatric cardiology, it is hypothesized that the success of home monitoring is contingent on the comfort and acceptance of wearable technology by parents and guardians. This paper presents a scoping review that evaluates existing research on parent perceptions of wearable devices in this context

Materials and

Methods:  In this scoping review, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were utilized to identify research on parent perceptions of wearable technology. Various combinations of keywords related to wearable technology, wearability, psychological effects, acceptance, response, pediatrics, parents, and guardians were employed to conduct a comprehensive literature search. Search strategies were meticulously crafted to align with the research objectives. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were performed on the selected studies to ensure a thorough evaluation of the existing literature. The literature review adhered to the PRISMA process.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: A comprehensive search across three databases using five different search scripts yielded 23 studies on parent perceptions of wearable technology. Of these, 18 papers were initially deemed eligible for review. However, further qualitative analysis excluded 13 papers (72%) due to the absence of parent/guardian responses, lack of focus on smart wearable devices, and overall relevance. Consequently, only 5 papers (28%) were included in the final analysis, emphasizing the need for more targeted research in this area.

The literature contains limited research and clinical trial outcomes addressing the benefits of wearable devices for post-cardiac surgery pediatric patients at home and the perceptions of parents regarding their child’s use of such technology. Notably, studies that include parent perspectives typically involve healthy children. Most of the relevant literature is international and spans from 2012 to 2019. A significant limitation of these studies is the short monitoring period, averaging six days, which does not address long-term home monitoring issues. Additionally, there is minimal research on parent perceptions, which is crucial as the interplay between the technology, parent perception, and the child's condition is vital to patient care outcomes. In summary, the scoping review found no clinical trials on post-cardiac surgery pediatric patients that inform parent perspectives on whether wearable technology can alleviate parental anxiety or provide evidence of its long-term use at home. This gap in the research literature underscores the need for clinical trials in this area.

Acknowledgements (Optional):