The Art of Waiting: Evaluation of an Interactive Media Experience in a Children's Hospital Clinic Waiting Space

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that providing low-intensity opportunities for interactive play can improve the waiting and overall clinic experiences of children. This study evaluates an innovative, interactive system called ScreenPlay designed to realize the intentions of the Healing Environment in the waiting space of a paediatric hospital.

Detailed Description
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Existing entertainment and distraction options (e.g. toys, video games) meet neither organizational standards nor families' needs with respect to accessibility and infection control. Additionally, they do not provide the types of positive experiences (e.g. calm, low intensity) that are most desirable for children awaiting treatment. The goal of this research is to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of ScreenPlay, a technology that enables users to create or manipulate animations on a screen/projection, and to provide an evidence-informed model for the design of optimal paediatric waiting spaces. A blinded, clustered, parallel randomized controlled trial applying objective outcome measures and qualitative methods will be used to compare children allocated to one of three waiting conditions at a large urban rehabilitation hospital: (a) no media (standard care), (b) passive media (a silent nature video), or (c) interactive media (ScreenPlay). This study will answer the questions: Can Interactive Media (i.e. ScreenPlay): reduce state anxiety in children/youth attending an outpatient clinic? and, improve child, parent, and staff satisfaction with the clinic experience? We hypothesize that: Decreases in state anxiety will be greater for children exposed to ScreenPlay for 10 minutes than for those exposed to passive (i.e. a nature video) or no media (i.e. standard care/control). The decrease in state anxiety associated with ScreenPlay will be >5 points on the normalized 100 point State Anxiety Scale. ScreenPlay will generate more movement/activity on the floor (i.e. an indicator of active engagement with the system) than the passive media or control conditions as measured via contact floor sensors. The waiting and overall clinic experience of children with diverse mobility, parents, and staff will be perceived more positively when exposed to ScreenPlay as compared to passive media or control conditions.

Official Title
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The Art of Waiting: Evaluation of an Interactive Media Experience in a Children's Hospital Clinic Waiting Space

Conditions
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Anxiety

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: ScreenPlay


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Participants include clients, their parents/guardians, and staff associated with the outpatient clinic at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Children and youth aged 5 to 19 years and their guardian/parent. Anticipated wait time ≥30 minutes to allow time to complete the study. Ability to communicate in English through speech, writing/typing, or other communication device. Note: For children who cannot communicate their thoughts/feelings, parent-proxy may be used. All outpatient clinic staff

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 5 Years
Maximum Age: 19 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Interactive media<br>ScreenPlay | Other: ScreenPlay<br>* Interactive technology<br>|
| Passive media<br>Silent nature video | |
| No media<br>Standard care | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| State Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI | The STAI is used to capture apprehension, tension, nervousness, and worry. | Baseline, after 10 minutes of exposure to intervention, and immediately following appointment. | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, mYPAS | The mYPAS observes activity, vocalizations, emotion expressivity, state of arousal, and use of parents, to ascertain children's anxiety state. | Baseline, after 10 minutes of exposure to intervention, and immediately following appointment. | 
| Faces Pain Scale Revised, Faces-R | Faces-R is used to capture self-reported pain. The scale is composed of 6 gender neutral faces showing increasing levels pain/hurt from no pain to most pain possible | Immediately following medical/therapeutic intervention. | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Hospital Design, Technology, Anxiety