Livestreaming for Neonatal Care Evaluation

A web-based bedside camera service (AngelEye Health, Nashville TN, USA) was introduced into our tertiary level neonatal unit in London in January 2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. There are 28 cots in our unit, receiving around 800 admissions per year. Staff received ward-based teaching on the implementation of the livestreaming technology by clinical and research staff, with parents receiving written information about the system before signing an agreement form for the use of livestreaming webcams to be positioned on their baby’s cotside. During their evaluation, the livestreaming cameras were activated by nurses working with families for 2 h in the morning and 2 h in the evening, with additional personalised ‘viewing’ if parents were unable to be physically present for any reason. Livestreaming was available through a password protected website, accessible through parents’ smartphone or tablet, and shared with extended family/friends at their discretion. The wider programme of study pragmatically explored the impact of livestreaming technology upon nursing workload, staff perceptions and parental experiences, to better understand how the use of novel technology in neonatal care can be enhanced [17 (link)]. Parental participation included a questionnaire exploring their attitudes towards the use of livestreaming, and optional qualitative interview. The parental experiences study was introduced to parents by a member of the research team, who were also clinical research nurses, after a minimum admission of, or using the livestreaming technology for, three days (some families were introduced to, and consented to using, livestreaming whilst admitted to labour ward), to allow parents to familiarise themselves with the technology. At the end of the questionnaire was an option to share their experiences further in a qualitative interview. If participants opted to share their contact details, they were contacted by the research team to discuss participation and schedule the interview. All participants provided digital signed informed consent prior to participating in the interviews.