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. 2024 Jul 9:15:1355901.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1355901. eCollection 2024.

Parental involvement in robot-mediated intervention: a systematic review

Adriana Piccolo  1 , Carmela De Domenico  1 , Marcella Di Cara  1 , Carmela Settimo  1 , Francesco Corallo  1 , Simona Leonardi  1 , Caterina Impallomeni  1 , Emanuela Tripodi  1 , Angelo Quartarone  1 , Francesca Cucinotta  1
Affiliations

Parental involvement in robot-mediated intervention: a systematic review

Adriana Piccolo et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Introduction: Over the years, the conceptual approach to pediatric rehabilitation has reevaluated the parent's role in the therapeutic process, considering parental involvement as a necessary condition for the effectiveness of the intervention. In the field of pediatric intervention, the therapeutic use of robots represents a growing clinical interest, but the feasibility and applicability of these robotic interventions, including those involving parents, remain unclear. This systematic review aims to investigate parental involvement in robot-mediated interventions (RMI) for children and adolescents in the current literature. Our main goal is to analyze and summarize all existing studies to discuss and draw future research directions and implications for clinical practice.

Method: After collecting results from 1,106 studies, the studies selected were analyzed using thematic analysis. The literature review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines by searching databases such as PubMed and Web of Science until 07 February 2023. Studies that met the following inclusion criteria were included: (1) the use of a robot as a therapeutic-rehabilitation tool and (2) the presence/involvement of parents/caregivers in child-robot therapeutic sessions.

Results: A total of 10 articles were included. The extracted data included study design, participant characteristics, type of robot used, outcome measures, aim, and type of intervention. The results reveal that parental involvement in RMI could be feasible and useful in improving intervention efficacy, particularly in improving the child's social-communicative abilities and the caregiver's educational skills.

Discussion: RMI intervention with parental participation could be a useful therapeutic strategy in pediatrics. However, to date, few studies have investigated this specific topic, and the reported results may enhance future research to understand its effectiveness in specific areas of use.

Systematic review registration: identifier: CRD42024553214.

Keywords: caregivers; children; parenting; pediatric rehabilitation; robotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram for study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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