Impact of Conversational Approaches in Pediatric Social Robot-Mediated Interventions

Starting soon · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Pediatric Patients, Pediatric Patients in Hospital Settings, Hospitalized Children

In brief

This study examines how different robot dialogue systems (rule-based vs. large language model-based) and content types (emotional support vs. safety education) affect pediatric patients' responses during hospital-based robot-mediated interventions. Approximately 60 pediatric patients aged 2-9 years will be randomly assigned to interact with a social robot (LIKU) using either rule-based or LLM-based dialogue. Each child will participate in two activity sessions (emotional content and safety content) in randomized order. Primary outcomes include child engagement, emotional responses, robot perception, and activity preferences, assessed through standardized questionnaires (UEQ, Godspeed), child interviews, and behavioral observations. Additionally, 5 experts will evaluate content appropriateness and safety. This pilot study aims to provide foundational data for developing personalized pediatric robot programs in hospital settings, optimizing both dialogue approaches and content design based on individual child characteristics.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07389902

Run by

Samsung Medical Center

People needed

60

Starts

2026-02-09

Expected to finish

2027-07-30

Last updated by the study team

2026-02-05

Who can join

Age: 2 and older, up to 9. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Pediatric patients aged 2-9 years
• Currently admitted to or visiting Samsung Medical Center pediatric ward or outpatient clinic
• Capable of cognitive communication as determined by experienced medical staff
• Written informed consent from parent/legal guardian obtained
• Verbal assent from child obtained (developmentally appropriate)
• Not in acute emergency situation
• Able to engage in stable interaction for at least 5 minutes in hospital environment

You may not qualify if…

• Diagnosis of moderate to severe developmental delay (language or cognitive) documented in medical records
• Currently in isolation treatment (e.g., due to infectious disease)
• Experiencing acute pain, fever, or medical procedures that make study participation difficult
• Parent/guardian or child declined participation or withdrew consent

Where it is running

• Samsung Medical Center — Seoul, South Korea

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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