TY  - JOUR
AU  - Racine, Nicole
AU  - Chow, Cheryl
AU  - Hamwi, Lojain
AU  - Bucsea, Oana
AU  - Cheng, Carol
AU  - Du, Hang
AU  - Fabrizi, Lorenzo
AU  - Jasim, Sara
AU  - Johannsson, Lesley
AU  - Jones, Laura
AU  - Laudiano-Dray, Maria Pureza
AU  - Meek, Judith
AU  - Mistry, Neelum
AU  - Shah, Vibhuti
AU  - Stedman, Ian
AU  - Wang, Xiaogang
AU  - Riddell, Rebecca Pillai
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/2/9
TI  - Health Care Professionals’ and Parents’ Perspectives on the Use of AI for Pain Monitoring in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: Multisite Qualitative Study
JO  - JMIR AI
SP  - e51535
VL  - 3
KW  - pain monitoring
KW  - pain management
KW  - preterm infant
KW  - neonate
KW  - pain
KW  - infant
KW  - infants
KW  - neonates
KW  - newborn
KW  - newborns
KW  - neonatal
KW  - baby
KW  - babies
KW  - pediatric
KW  - pediatrics
KW  - preterm
KW  - premature
KW  - assessment
KW  - intensive care
KW  - NICU
KW  - neonatal intensive care unit
KW  - HCP
KW  - health care professional
KW  - health care professionals
KW  - experience
KW  - experiences
KW  - attitude
KW  - attitudes
KW  - opinion
KW  - perception
KW  - perceptions
KW  - perspective
KW  - perspectives
KW  - acceptance
KW  - adoption
KW  - willingness
KW  - artificial intelligence
KW  - AI
KW  - digital health
KW  - health technology
KW  - health technologies
KW  - interview
KW  - interviews
KW  - parent
KW  - parents
AB  - Background: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) for pain assessment has the potential to address historical challenges in infant pain assessment. There is a dearth of information on the perceived benefits and barriers to the implementation of AI for neonatal pain monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from the perspective of health care professionals (HCPs) and parents. This qualitative analysis provides novel data obtained from 2 large tertiary care hospitals in Canada and the United Kingdom. Objective: The aim of the study is to explore the perspectives of HCPs and parents regarding the use of AI for pain assessment in the NICU. Methods: In total, 20 HCPs and 20 parents of preterm infants were recruited and consented to participate from February 2020 to October 2022 in interviews asking about AI use for pain assessment in the NICU, potential benefits of the technology, and potential barriers to use. Results: The 40 participants included 20 HCPs (17 women and 3 men) with an average of 19.4 (SD 10.69) years of experience in the NICU and 20 parents (mean age 34.4, SD 5.42 years) of preterm infants who were on average 43 (SD 30.34) days old. Six themes from the perspective of HCPs were identified: regular use of technology in the NICU, concerns with regard to AI integration, the potential to improve patient care, requirements for implementation, AI as a tool for pain assessment, and ethical considerations. Seven parent themes included the potential for improved care, increased parental distress, support for parents regarding AI, the impact on parent engagement, the importance of human care, requirements for integration, and the desire for choice in its use. A consistent theme was the importance of AI as a tool to inform clinical decision-making and not replace it. Conclusions: HCPs and parents expressed generally positive sentiments about the potential use of AI for pain assessment in the NICU, with HCPs highlighting important ethical considerations. This study identifies critical methodological and ethical perspectives from key stakeholders that should be noted by any team considering the creation and implementation of AI for pain monitoring in the NICU. 
SN  - 2817-1705
UR  - https://ai.jmir.org/2024/1/e51535
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/51535
DO  - 10.2196/51535
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/51535
ER  -