Back to school with telepresence robot technology: A qualitative pilot study about how telepresence robots help school-aged children and adolescents with cancer to remain socially and academically connected with their school classes during treatment.
Mette Weibel, Martin Kaj Fridh Nielsen, Martha Krogh Topperzer and 4 others
PMID 32587717WHAT IT FOUND
Children with cancer described a telepresence robot helping them see and hear class, but feelings varied: some felt included, others felt overlooked.
Weak Wi-Fi and classroom placement mattered. Nurses may time care around school connection.
Key findings
01Through the AV1, two participants described feeling included, while the third described feeling overlooked.
02Classmates described treating the AV1 as the child and inviting the child into social and school activities.
03Unstable Wi-Fi was described by all participants as a limiting factor, and as useless when it did not work.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The authors noted the small sample size, and only three children/adolescents with cancer were included. Participants were chosen by convenience because only three AV1 robots were available. One invited boy had already returned to school and declined, so his own experience was not interviewed. The study reports experiences and themes, not measured effects on psychosocial or educational development. The researcher helped restore robot function during classroom observations, which may have affected the situations observed.
Declared interests
No conflict of interest was declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude AV1 improves social or academic outcomes. This is a small qualitative pilot, and the findings include both inclusion and exclusion.