The effect of introducing Huggable, a social robot, to hospitalized children aged 3 to 10 years old at Boston Children’s Hospital was studied. This cuddly blue interactive bear, small enough to sit on a table top, was studied compared to a tablet-based version of the bear and an old-school plush toy bear. The pediatric patients who played with Huggable were found to exhibit “greater levels of joyfulness and agreeableness than comparison interventions.” Huggable is suggested as a promising way to address the emotional needs of hospitalized children. There is an interesting free 4-minute video interview that accompanies this article.
Source: Logan, D.E., and others. (2019, July). Social robots for hospitalized children. Pediatrics, 144(1). Click here for video: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1/e20181511?sso=1&sso_redirect_count=1&nfstatus=401&nftoken=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&nfstatusdescription=ERROR%3a+No+local+token
Click here for abstract: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/144/1/e20181511 Posted by AHA Resource Center (312) 422-2050 rc@aha.org
Filed under: Nursing units, Patient care, Posted by Kim Garber | Tagged: Children's hospitals, Pediatrics units, Robotics |
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