Exploring Amico H impact: A promising tool to promote children’s knowledge and adherence to medical procedures

Titolo Rivista PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Autori/Curatori Giulia Perasso, Eleonora Picco, Pierpaolo Di Bitonto, Clio Sozzani, Alberto Martelli, Massimo Miglioretti, Chiara Ripamonti
Anno di pubblicazione 2023 Fascicolo 2023/3
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 17 P. 137-153 Dimensione file 362 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2023-003008
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FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

mHealth (e.g., the use of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets for delivering healthcare services) has become a crucial resource in pediatric healthcare, providing children with psychoeducation and distraction, and enhancing treatment compliance. Amico H, a newly developed application, is targeted at ameliorating children’s and parents’ experience of pediat-ric medical procedures and communication with healthcare professionals. With the virtual en-vironment of a castle, Amico H is a mHealth app for children, offering interactive games and psychoeducational support during medical treatments. The present experience explores the im-pact of the Amico H prototype on children, teens, and parents in terms of pleasantness, usabil-ity, and usefulness. Method: A total of 99 children and teens aged 4-19 years (10.53 ± 3.69 years; 73% female), both hospitalized (28%) or not and N=32 caregivers (72% mothers) re-sponded to an ad-hoc survey on the app’s user experience. Descriptive analyses and group comparisons have been computed. Results: Findings highlight that children and caregivers were highly amused and satisfied by Amico H. Compared to teens, children needed more help from adults in the use of the app. Conclusion: All the results indicate that Amico H is a pow-erful tool to ameliorate pediatric hospitalization experience and to promote children’s knowledge about health and medical procedures. The need for age-specific versions of Amico H emerged. Future directions and limits are discussed.

La mHealth (e.g., l’uso di dispositivi mobili come smartphone e tablet per fornire servizi sanitari) è diventata una risorsa cruciale in campo pediatrico, poiché può fornire ai bambini psicoeducazione e distrazione, e può migliorarne l’aderenza al trattamento. Amico H, un’applicazione mHealth appena sviluppata, è mirata a migliorare l’esperienza dei bambini e dei genitori rispetto ai trattamenti medici in campo pediatrico e fortificare la comunicazione con i professionisti sanitari. Tramite l’ambiente virtuale di un castello, Amico H offre giochi inte-rattivi e supporto psicoeducativo durante il trattamento medico. Lo scopo della presente espe-rienza è esplorare l’impatto del prototipo di Amico H sui bambini, sugli adolescenti e sui geni-tori in termini di piacevolezza, usabilità e utilità. Un totale di 99 bambini e adolescenti di età compresa tra 4 e 19 anni (10.53 ± 3.69 anni; il 73% femmine), sia ospedalizzati (28%) che non, e N = 32 caregiver (72% madri) hanno risposto a un sondaggio ad hoc sull’esperienza dell’utente della app. Sono state effettuate analisi descrittive e confronti di gruppo. Dai risultati emerge che i bambini e i caregiver sono divertiti e soddisfatti di Amico H. Rispetto agli adole-scenti, i bambini hanno avuto bisogno di maggiore aiuto dagli adulti nell’utilizzo della app. Complessivamente, i risultati indicano che Amico H può essere un potente strumento per mi-gliorare l’esperienza di ospedalizzazione pediatrica e promuovere la conoscenza dei bambini sulla salute e sulle procedure mediche. È emersa la necessità di versioni di Amico H specifiche per età. Sono discusse, inoltre, le prospettive future e i limiti dello studio.

Keywords:bambini, genitori, ospedale, mHealth, comunicazione, salute, pediatria, tablet.

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Giulia Perasso, Eleonora Picco, Pierpaolo Di Bitonto, Clio Sozzani, Alberto Martelli, Massimo Miglioretti, Chiara Ripamonti, Exploring Amico H impact: A promising tool to promote children’s knowledge and adherence to medical procedures in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 3/2023, pp 137-153, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2023-003008