With Robots through Fear – the Future of Pediatric Medicine?
- Johanna
- 6 days ago
- 5 min read
Doctor visits can be stressful and scary for children, whether it's for blood draws, vaccinations, dental appointments, or more extensive treatments. But modern technology offers exciting solutions that can help children (and parents): social robots!
In recent years, several studies have investigated how interactive robots can reduce anxiety, stress, and even pain in children. Here are the most exciting research findings. Robots such as NAO, MEDi®, MAKI, and iRobiQ have been used in studies, as have interactive teddy bears and customized robots.
1. Social robots significantly reduce anxiety and stress!
The study results show: Social robots help children navigate medical procedures more calmly. A significant reduction in anxiety, stress, and avoidance behavior was observed. This applies to many areas:
Blood tests, vaccinations, dental treatments
Waiting in the emergency room or for an examination
Invasive treatments and MRIs
Routine and emergency treatments
2. Empathic Robots - the Future of Pediatric Medicine?
Some robots distracted children in the studies with games, songs, or animations. Others relied on empathy: They spoke to the children in a friendly manner, listened, comforted, and motivated them.
The studies show that empathetic robots achieve the best results – the children showed less fear and pain.
Interactive elements such as facial expressions, gestures or calming words enhance the effect.
3. Differences according to age and gender
Children between 6 and 9 years of age benefit most from robot support.
Girls often react more sensitively and positively than boys.
4. Scientifically proven, but long-term data are lacking
With Robots through Fear – the Future of Pediatric Medicine? Studies have shown positive effects, with moderate to large effect sizes . Positive changes have also been measured in physiological parameters such as heart rate and stress hormones. However, some studies are small, methodologies vary widely, and long-term data are often lacking. Comparability between studies is also limited.
5. No substitute for sensitive support
While social robots can provide wonderful support, they are not a replacement for the compassionate guidance you provide as a parent and the professional medical team. Rather, they are a complement that can help your child feel safer and more comfortable in stressful situations. Studies show that the emotional connection with you plays a crucial role in reducing your child's anxiety during doctor's visits.
You can support your child specifically by:
explain the situation, take his feelings seriously and give him security.
Tell him what happens at the doctor's visit and talk openly about his concerns.
It also helps to offer shared relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or imagining a beautiful place. This shows your child that they are not alone and that you are there to help them.
Make sure to create a calm atmosphere and let your child know that it's okay to be afraid.
Positive reinforcement can boost your child's self-confidence. For example, you could plan a short trip to their favorite playground or read a favorite story together after the doctor's visit.
Also talk to the medical team if you need support.
Social robots could become a valuable tool in the future, alongside parental empathetic support, to reduce children's fears during medical procedures. Many parents reported that the robots not only helped their children but also reduced their own anxiety. Fewer crying or anxious children mean a more relaxed process for everyone involved.
2025-05
resources
Pan et al., 2024: Pan, X.-Y., Bi, X.-Y., Nong, Y.-N., Ye, (2024). The Efficacy of Socially Assistive Robots in Improving Children's Pain and Negative Affectivity During Needle-Based Invasive Treatment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis . BMC Pediatrics, 24(1), 5116.
➡️ This systematic review with meta-analysis shows that social robots can significantly reduce anxiety and negative emotions in children during needle-based treatments.
Smakman et al., 2021: Smakman, MHJ, et al. (2021). Mitigating Children's Pain and Anxiety During Blood Draw Using Social Robots .
➡️ This study investigated the use of social robots during blood draws and found a significant reduction in anxiety and pain among the participating children.
Rossi et al., 2021: Rossi, S., Santini, S., Di Genova, D., et al. (2021). Using the Social Robot NAO for Emotional Support to Children at a Pediatric Emergency Department: Randomized Clinical Trial . Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(3), e29656.
➡️ Here it was shown that the humanoid robot NAO can improve the emotional support of children and reduce their anxiety in the emergency setting.
Farrier et al., 2019: Farrier CE, Pearson J, Beran TN (2019). Children's Fear and Pain During Medical Procedures: A Quality Improvement Study With a Humanoid Robot . The Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 51(2), 99-105.
➡️ This study documents the positive effects of a humanoid robot on children's anxiety and pain during medical procedures.
Logan et al., 2019: Logan, D., Breazeal, C., Goodwin, M., et al. (2019). Social Robots for Hospitalized Children . Pediatrics, 143(5), e20181511.
➡️ This study describes the role of social robots as emotional support for children in hospital.
Beran et al., 2013: Beran, TN, Ramirez-Serrano, A., Vanderkooi, O., Kuhn, S. (2013). Reducing Children's Pain and Distress Towards Flu Vaccinations: A Novel and Effective Application of Humanoid Robotics . Vaccine, 31(25), 2772-2777.
➡️ This work shows that a humanoid robot can significantly reduce children's fear and discomfort about flu vaccinations.
Trost et al., 2020: Trost, MJ, Chrysilla, G., Gold, J., Matarić, M. (2020). Socially-Assistive Robots Using Empathy to Reduce Pain and Distress During Peripheral IV Placement in Children . Pain Research and Management, 2020, Article ID 7935215.
➡️ This study investigated the use of empathic robots for peripheral venous access and found a significant reduction in anxiety and pain in children.
Yasemin et al., 2016: Yasemin, M., et al. (2016). Reduction of Dental Anxiety and Pain in Children Using Robots .
➡️ This study investigated the positive influence of robots on children's anxiety and pain during dental treatment.
Alemi et al., 2014: Alemi, M., Meghdari, A., Ghanbarzadeh, A., et al. (2014). Effect of Utilizing a Humanoid Robot as a Therapy-Assistant in Reducing Anger, Anxiety, and Depression . Proceedings of the International Conference on Robotics and Mechatronics, 699–704.
➡️ Here it was shown that humanoid robots can act as therapeutic aids against anxiety, anger and depression in children.
Kasımoğlu et al., 2020: Kasımoğlu, Y., Kocaaydın, S., Karsli, E., Esen, M., Bektas, I., Ince, G., Tuna, E. (2020). Robotic Approach to the Reduction of Dental Anxiety in Children . Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, 78(8), 588–595.
➡️ This study demonstrates the effectiveness of robots in reducing anxiety and stress in pediatric dentistry.
