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BackgroundPediatric patients undergo a variety of painful medical procedures.PurposeThe goal of this quality improvement study was to introduce a humanoid robot (MEDi®) programmed with strategies, such as distraction and deep breathing, at inpatient and outpatient units to determine any preliminary effects on children’s pain and fear during medical procedures.MethodsA nonrandomized two-group pre- and posttest design was used to compare pain and fear of children before and after intervention versus standard care. A total of 46 children aged 2–15 years undergoing various medical procedures in a pediatric hospital, and their parents completed the Children’s Fear Scale and the Faces Pain Scale-Revised. The former was used both before and after the procedure, while the latter only after the procedure.ResultsChildren ( n = 18), who interacted with the robot before and during a procedure, and their parents reported significantly lower levels of fear and pain than did children ( n = 28) and their parents in standard care, ps < .05.ConclusionsThe use of a humanoid robot programmed with psychological strategies to support coping may enhance children’s experiences of care for pain management.

Original publication

DOI

10.1177/0844562119862742

Type

Journal article

Journal

Canadian Journal of Nursing Research

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Publication Date

12/2020

Volume

52

Pages

328 - 334