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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01909726

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

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.

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Key information

Conditions

Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Mental Disorders

Age range

5 year–19 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Toronto, Ontario, M4G 1R8, Canada

About this study

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.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

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

Treatment and study plan

ScreenPlay

Other

Interactive technology

Primary outcomes

  1. State Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI

    Time frame: Baseline, after 10 minutes of exposure to intervention, and immediately following appointment.

    The STAI is used to capture apprehension, tension, nervousness, and worry.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, mYPAS

    Time frame: Baseline, after 10 minutes of exposure to intervention, and immediately following appointment.

    The mYPAS observes activity, vocalizations, emotion expressivity, state of arousal, and use of parents, to ascertain children's anxiety state.

  2. Faces Pain Scale Revised, Faces-R

    Time frame: Immediately following medical/therapeutic intervention.

    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"

Other outcomes

  1. Behaviour Mapping

    Time frame: Administered during the participant's 10 minute exposure to the intervention.

    An unobtrusive, observational technique used to systematically define/record distinct behaviours including: mobility, activities, social interactions, emotion expressivity, attention/engagement, and description of challenges encountered.

  2. Contact sensors

    Time frame: Data from sensors is continuously collected from 7am to 5pm from beginning of data collection (June 2012) to end of data collection (April 2013)

    ScreenPlay incorporates a 'pressure' floor composed of 100 contact sensors arranged in a 10 foot by 10 foot grid. Activity metrics (e.g. number, duration, and frequency of activations) are extracted for each contact sensor and for the amalgamated grid.

  3. Feedback questionnaires

    Time frame: Child and parent surveys are administered post-exposure. Staff surveys will be administered nearing the end of the recruitment deadline.

    The surveys inquire into child, parent, and staff perceptions of the waiting space and their overall clinic experience through a mixture of open- and close-ended (e.g. Likert scale) questions.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Other

Collaborators

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2012
Primary completion
2013
Study completion
2013
First posted
Jul 26, 2013
Registry last updated
Aug 1, 2014

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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