Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2025
Author Spotlight: Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined with Movement Observation in Cerebral Palsy
Published on: August 9, 2024
NeuroPAIN app: Usefulness of a mobile pain application evaluation system for children with cerebral palsy
Kher Hui Ng1, Choong Yi Fong2, Mohd Fazrul Shafiq Kamarudzaman3
1School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga, 43500 Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia.
Insights
Malaysian children with cerebral palsy (CP) frequently experience pain, especially those with assisted tube feeding. The NeuroPAIN app aids pain monitoring, though prolonged pain may reduce parental engagement.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Neurology
- Pain Management
- Digital Health
Background:
- Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often experience significant pain.
- Accurate and timely pain assessment is crucial for effective management.
- Mobile applications offer a potential tool for monitoring pain in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and evaluate the usefulness of the NeuroPAIN mobile application for pain monitoring in children with CP.
- To assess pain recognition and monitoring capabilities among Malaysian parents of children with bilateral CP using the NeuroPAIN app.
Main Methods:
- A prospective cohort study involving parents of children with bilateral non-ambulant CP using Android devices.
- Installation and utilization of the NeuroPAIN app for pain symptom recording and rating.
- Analysis of app data at 3-month follow-up, supplemented by a parental feedback questionnaire.
Main Results:
- 95% of parents reported pain in their children; assisted tube feeding correlated with increased pain frequency.
- The NeuroPAIN app was found easy to navigate by 77% of parents.
- Two-thirds of parents regularly used the app, but usage decreased with prolonged pain episodes (≥25s).
Conclusions:
- Most Malaysian children with bilateral CP experience pain, underscoring the need for vigilant clinical monitoring, particularly for those with assisted tube feeding.
- Prolonged pain duration may contribute to parental fatigue and reduced engagement with the NeuroPAIN app.
Objectives:
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) can experience a substantial amount of pain. Effective pain management hinges on precise and prompt assessment. We designed a mobile-based application NeuroPAIN app to monitor pain among children with CP. NeuroPAIN app allowed parents to record pain symptoms, pain duration, and rate the perceived pain their child was facing. We evaluated the usefulness of NeuroPAIN app in pain recognition and monitoring among Malaysian parents of children with bilateral CP.
Method:
Prospective cohort study of all parents of children with bilateral non-ambulant CP who owned Android devices. NeuroPAIN app was installed in all participants. At 3-month follow-up, data of the NeuroPAIN app was analyzed and participants were given a feedback questionnaire to complete.
Results:
Total of 60 parents participated in the study (child's median age 7 years, interquartile range 4-8.75 years). The vast majority (95 %) of parents reported pain in their children. Children with assisted tube feeding was associated with reported increased pain frequency. Majority (77 %) felt it was easy to navigate the NeuroPAIN app. Two-thirds regularly tracked their child's pain using the app over a 2-month period. Parents of children with prolonged periods of pain ≥25 s were associated with reduced app usage.
Conclusion:
Majority of Malaysian children with bilateral CP often experience pain particularly among those with assisted tube feeding highlighting the importance for clinicians to be vigilant in monitoring pain among these children. Prolonged pain periods among children with CP may lead to parental fatigue in monitoring pain through the NeuoPAIN app.
