Parenting Journal · Volume 3 · Issue 1 · 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.
The text below is the original article’s licensed repository edition. Its wording is not rewritten. Use the Paper Agent beside the text to locate evidence; open the source for figures, tables and complete context.
Opening the verified paper and agent…
Checking the article identity, license record, and saved source text.
Open the repository recordAttribution & reuse
Follow the original.
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.