Parenting Journal · Volume 1 · Issue 2 · Licensed source edition
Using the Social Robot NAO for Emotional Support to Children at a Pediatric Emergency Department: Randomized Clinical Trial
Originally published 2022-01-13 · Journal of Medical Internet Research
JMIR Publications Inc. · DOI 10.2196/29656 ↗
AI / system type
Programmed NAO social robot; not generative AI
Child-facing evidenceExamines children or child-focused systems. Transfer to everyday family life must be assessed separately.
The AI connection
Programmed NAO social robot; not generative AI. Tests a robot as acute emotional support alongside parent presence and nurse play.
Why this reading matters
An active human-play comparison provides more informative evidence than enjoyment ratings alone.
Editorial reading guide · Kindness
Could a robot help a frightened child during an emergency visit?
Tests a robot as acute emotional support alongside parent presence and nurse play.
Study context
109 enrolled; 94 completed in one Italian pediatric emergency department
Age / stage: 3–10 years
Read with three questions
- What were the nurse-play and waiting comparison conditions?
- What does salivary cortisol measure here?
- Were long-term anxiety or home outcomes measured?
Keep the limits in view
Single site and brief exposure; no psychological stress/anxiety scale. Acute cortisol findings do not establish lasting emotional benefit or replacement of caregivers.
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Original authorship, publication date, journal and DOI are preserved. This issue’s TRICK placement and reading questions are editorial additions, not claims made by the original authors.
Silvia Rossi; Silvano Junior Santini; Daniela Di Genova; Gianpaolo Maggi; Alberto Verrotti; Giovanni Farello; Roberta Romualdi; Anna Alisi; Alberto Eugenio Tozzi; Clara Balsano; Rita Kukafka; Oliver Korn; Craig Sutherland (2022). Using the Social Robot NAO for Emotional Support to Children at a Pediatric Emergency Department: Randomized Clinical Trial Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/29656
Permissions checked against the saved article notice; repository publication notices screened 2026-11-04. This is not a new peer-review decision. The source authors and publishers are not represented as endorsing this issue.