Robots that Care: How Social Robots Can Boost Children's Mental Wellbeing

This PhD thesis explores how social robots can provide mental support for children in general healthcare environments, addressing the challenge of integrating these robots in ways that offer personalised support for children's physical and emotional needs. The research employed a two-phase methodology: an exploratory phase using participatory design, followed by field testing in realistic settings, guided by the question "How can social robots effectively provide mental support to children in general healthcare settings?" During the exploratory phase, we engaged key stakeholders (parents, healthcare professionals, and children) through various participatory design methods including focus groups, interviews, and creative workshops, identifying 30 scenarios, 39 user requirements, and stakeholder expectations for social robots in pediatric healthcare. The testing phase involved field studies investigating three key applications: reducing children's pre-procedural stress, encouraging health-related self-disclosure, and facilitating emotion skills learning. These studies were conducted with the Dutch Child and Family Center and Portuguese institutions to ensure real-world applicability. The research revealed that social robots significantly reduced children's anxiety in waiting rooms before medical procedures, outperforming other distraction methods like tablets, with robot gestures enhancing engagement and further reducing anxiety. People generally disclosed health information to social robots, though the breadth and depth varied based on the robot's persona, user characteristics, and disclosure category, with important differences observed between adults and children. Additionally, robots facilitated playful learning of emotion skills through collaborative games, improving children's empathy and emotional understanding, while reflective prompts from robots stimulated children's emotional self-disclosure. The research demonstrates methods for incorporating stakeholder input into robot design, provides empirical evidence that social robots can enhance children's healthcare experiences, and emphasizes the importance of adapting technologies to individual users. This thesis advances scientific understanding of social robots in healthcare while providing practical implementation guidance, addressing the interplay between technological capabilities, user needs, and healthcare contexts, and establishing a foundation for more effective use of social robots in supporting children's mental well-being across various healthcare scenarios.