Raymond Odsen
Project: Can a humanoid robot reduce children’s fear in the pediatric emergency waiting room?
"My own experience as a father made me want to pursue this studentship. Having been to the pediatric emergency department at the Stollery Children’s Hospital with sick kids, in pain, unsure of what's about to happen, I have a passion for improving care for kids in similar positions."
Summary: As a parent of two, I know the stress of sitting in an emergency department (ED) waiting room with a sick child, wishing for something to lessen their fear and uncertainty. Our team's earlier research has shown that using robots to provide distraction during medical procedures, such as IV insertions, reduces children’s stress and anxiety. We have also shown that robots providing caregiver education and distraction in ED waiting rooms reduce caregiver anxiety and improve satisfaction with care. But there is little research specifically directed at decreasing children’s fear and stress in the waiting room. A positive waiting room experience can shape a family's entire medical journey, as it is often their first point of contact with the health-care system.
So far, we have completed initial data collection and recruitment, but we need more support to analyze the data and present results. We surveyed children, their caregivers and triage nurses on days with robot interaction and without. A small humanoid robot was used to distract children with music and dance, as well as to provide guided mindfulness relaxation techniques.
Children reported their fear using the Children's Fear Scale and the Child Scary Scale, while their anxiety was measured with a child version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) tool and their pain with the Faces Pain Scale-Revised. Caregiver, triage nurse and child satisfaction with their waiting room experience was measured with a five-point scale. By understanding if a robot presence can lessen children’s fear, along with increasing satisfaction for children, caregivers and nursing staff, we aim to help health-care providers deliver the best care for children who visit increasingly busy and stressful pediatric EDs. Through this research, we can improve waiting room experiences for families at the Stollery and beyond.
Raymond Odsen was supervised by Dr. Samina Ali in the Department of Pediatrics in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. His WCHRI summer studentship was funded by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. He is enrolled in the University of Alberta’s doctor of medicine program.
Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers. See the rest of the 2026 summer studentship recipients here.
