FluidTrack: Investigating Child-Parent Collaborative Tracking for Pediatric Voiding Dysfunction Management

Research Background and Problem

• What problems or challenges did the authors identify?
  Daytime urinary frequency syndrome (DUFS) is a common pediatric urinary dysfunction that typically requires tracking patients' drinking, urination, and defecation behaviors for diagnosis and treatment. However, due to the underdeveloped memory and comprehension abilities of children aged 4-6, it is challenging for them to consistently maintain self-recording behaviors over time. Meanwhile, parents, often busy with work, find it difficult to continuously supervise and assist with the recording. This lack of effective tools makes DUFS management a significant burden for families.

• Why is this problem important?
  If DUFS is not effectively managed, it can negatively impact children's daily lives, mental health, and family relationships. Long-term behavior tracking is also essential to provide diagnostic evidence. However, current methods often rely on paper logs or verbal reports from parents, which are neither accurate nor convenient. Therefore, there is a need to explore child-friendly tools that can reduce the burden on families and optimize the management process.

• Research Motivation and Related Work
  Existing research suggests that self-tracking technologies can enhance users' self-awareness and behavior management capabilities, but most of these studies focus on adult users, with few designed specifically for young children. Some studies have developed tools for children's health management, but these primarily rely on automated sensors, overlooking the potential of semi-automated tracking methods. Additionally, the cognitive and behavioral limitations of young children, as well as the need for parental collaboration, have not been fully explored.

Solution

• What methods or solutions did the authors propose?
  The authors designed the FluidTrack system, consisting of three components: (1) a wearable device, MoaBand, for recording children's drinking, urination, and defecation behaviors; (2) a MoaBottle water bottle to help children measure their water intake; and (3) a tablet application, MoaGardenApp, for recording, reviewing, and rewarding behavior data. The system employs a semi-automated data recording approach, allowing children to log behavior data via button presses, while timestamps and other data are automatically generated.

• What are the innovative aspects of this solution?

  1. Child-friendly semi-automated data recording: Combines manual and automated recording methods to balance the recording burden and data accuracy.
  2. Emphasis on the child's role: Encourages children to actively participate in health behavior tracking through reward mechanisms and gamified design.
  3. Child-parent collaboration: The system is designed to accommodate the distinct roles of children and parents, promoting cooperation and reducing parental burden.

• What are the implementation steps and key technologies used?

  1. Device design and development: Developed the MoaBand (wearable device) and MoaBottle (water bottle) to ensure ease of use for young children.
  2. Application design: MoaGardenApp enhances children's engagement through gamified rewards (flowers and butterflies), data review (e.g., timelines), and animated characters.
  3. Deployment study: Conducted a four-week trial involving 14 families to observe usage and effectiveness. Technologies such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and AI-generated voice were used for device communication and user interaction.

Research Findings

• What specific results were achieved?

  1. Child engagement: Among the 14 families, 10 children actively participated in behavior tracking, with most able to use the system correctly and consistently log data.
  2. Parental role: Parents played a significant role in assisting children with behavior data logging and reflection, while also helping to verify data accuracy.
  3. Data trends and management: During the intervention period, children's water intake increased overall, urination frequency gradually decreased, and defecation data remained stable. Parents provided positive overall feedback on the system.

• What are the advantages compared to existing solutions?

  1. Addressed the heavy burden of traditional recording methods by enabling children to actively participate in tracking tasks through a semi-automated design, making the process simpler and more sustainable.
  2. Enhanced self-awareness in children's health management and facilitated family collaboration, serving as a supplement and extension to existing child health tracking technologies.

• What were the experimental or evaluation results?

  1. An average of 13.7 behavior instances were logged daily, demonstrating high system usage.
  2. The subjective accuracy score of the data averaged 5.5 out of 7, indicating high data quality.
  3. The system significantly improved children's water intake and urination management, as evidenced by positive behavior trends in the data and feedback from parents.

• Limitations and Future Directions

  1. Limitations:
     • Participants were predominantly families highly invested in DUFS management, which may not represent the behavior of the general population.
     • The four-week study duration was insufficient to evaluate long-term effects and did not include a comparison with traditional treatment methods.
     • The button design of the MoaBand occasionally led to accidental presses, and the wristband's comfort posed challenges for some children.
  2. Future Directions:
     • Expand the study population and socioeconomic backgrounds to explore diverse user experiences in different contexts.
     • Improve device comfort and accuracy, and explore new forms (e.g., necklace-style or handheld devices).
     • Enhance system rewards and interaction design by incorporating more elements of self-learning and goal-setting to boost long-term child engagement.
     • Investigate family dynamics and collective participation possibilities (e.g., collaboration among siblings or in preschool settings).

This study demonstrates that children aged 4-6, with parental collaboration, can effectively record health behavior data using a semi-automated approach. It provides valuable insights for the future design of child health management technologies.