The DOI matches its Crossref record; 2 of the 2 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Social robots to support children’s well-being under medical treatment: A systematic state-of-the-art review
Abstract
Hospitalization is a stressful experience for children. Socially assistive robots (SARs), designed to interact with humans, might be a means to mitigate a child’s stress and support its well-being. A systematic state-of-the-art review was performed to inventorize the use of SARs in hospital to support children’s well-being and what the effects are. We searched five databases (Cinahl, Medline, Embase, PsycInfo, IEEE), combining terms for ‘distress’, ‘relaxation’ and ‘well-being’ with terms for social robot and child, and did an additional hand search. Ten publications (on eight studies) out of 563 unique titles were considered relevant. Six different robots were used (one humanoid, five pet-like) for distraction during medical procedure, emotional support for dealing with a disease or support of well-being during hospital stay. Positive effects on the children were noted, such as experiencing distraction and engagement, and less stress or pain, more relaxation, smiling and openness or better communication. On a psychiatric ward some youngsters felt unsafe with the robot. The outcomes suggest that SARs may have a potentially positive influence on a child’s well-being. Further research is needed to determine the effect of using SARs and how to integrate the use in the working routines of health personnel.
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“In children, social robots supported distraction, engagement, positive affect, communication, and emotional support during hospital care or play-based interaction [27,30,34].”
From The Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence-Based Pet Therapy in Improving the Care of Patients: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [30]
In the citing paper
“Some participants rejected robots, found them strange, disliked the animal form, or experienced emotional overstimulation during interaction [30,35,41].”
From The Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence-Based Pet Therapy in Improving the Care of Patients: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [30]
In the citing paper
“Occasional discomfort among adolescents highlights the need for developmentally sensitive integration [30].”
From The Effectiveness of Artificial Intelligence-Based Pet Therapy in Improving the Care of Patients: A Systematic Review (2026) · cites this paper as [30]
Citations
Cites
A survey of socially interactive robots
Fong, T., Nourbakhsh, I., & Dautenhahn, K. (2003) · Robotics and Autonomous Systems · doi:10.1016/s0921-8890(02)00372-x · Cited by 3,162 · cited 1×
“A social robot, also called a socially assistive robot (SAR), is a robot designed to interact socially with humans, usually coming in the shape of a pet or a human (Fong et al., 2003).”
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Trajbarič, T., Muršec, D., Svenšek, A., Štiglic, G., & Gosak, L. (2026) · Applied Sciences · doi:10.3390/app16104683
Metadata
- Authors
- Moerman, C. J., van der Heide, L., & Heerink, M.
- Affiliations
- Robotics Research Group, Windesheim University for Applied Sciences, Almere, The Netherlands
- Research Center for Technology in Care, Zuyd University of Applied Sciences, Heerlen, The Netherlands
- ORCID
- Moerman, Clara J
- Venue
- Journal of Child Health Care
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2018-11-03
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 596-612
- ISSN
- 1367-4935
- 1741-2889
- Cited by
- 90
- References
- 2
- Language
- en
- Funders
- SIA-RAAK Public Program (2014-01-49P)
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- Moerman, C. J., van der Heide, L., & Heerink, M. (2019). Social robots to support children’s well-being under medical treatment: A systematic state-of-the-art review. Journal of Child Health Care. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367493518803031
