Abstract:

The hospitalization path of paediatric oncohematology patients is often characterized by invasive physical procedures, change of routine, fear of the disease, states of agitation, anxiety and pain that can negatively impact the quality of life of young patients and their families, compromising their physical and psychological well-being (Nunns et al, 2018). Recent research underlines the potential of the clinical use of immersive virtual reality in supporting the psychological adaptation to hospitalization and the quality of life of paediatric patients (Tennant et al., 2021, Comparcini et al. 2023), making hospital spaces more accessible and closer to the playful aspects that characterize children’s lives.

Promoting accessible living environments does not only mean removing architectural or infrastructural barriers but also guaranteeing participation, autonomy, self-determination and enjoyment of human rights at all stages of life (UN, 2006). Accessibility is therefore a rethinking of habitual places and objects making them closer to everyone’s specific needs and the use of technologies, in this sense, can increase the participation of fragile people, such as hospitalized ones.

The contribution presents the conceptual framework and the preliminary results of a pedagogical investigation carried out within the Pediatric Oncohematology department of the "Vito Fazzi" Hospital in Lecce (Italy) in a project aimed at improving the quality of life of patients, through specially structured technologies to make the hospital reality more accessible and less painful. The hypothesis is that children who explore the hospital environment in advance and who experience a welcome experience, supported by Augmented Reality installations with fantastic characters, show a better emotional experience than those who enter therapy conventionally. The project involves the development of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality applications for patients aged 3 to 10 who are already hospitalized or who will have to undergo hospitalization. Starting from the narrative scenario of The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the technological devices will be programmed to be functional to prepare psychologically and emotionally for hospitalization and to organize playful virtual settings and mindfulness settings to accompany children during the most critical moments and help them manage stress and fear. The contribution exposes the general structure of the project, with a specific focus on the pedagogical choices related to a multi-user VR application, which will allow children to interact with each other in the ward through a VR viewer. The survey protocol consists of two parts: the first is based on Kellner's Symptom Questionnaire (1987) of which some variables were used (the scale of symptoms of anxiety and hostility). The second part was specifically developed to investigate skills, usage habits and availability preferences of technologies in the hospital context, analysing any critical issues with the aim of making the hospital experience personalized, accessible and respectful of young patients.

Specifically for this work, we will present the preliminary data of a qualitative-quantitative survey on non-hospitalized children to highlight critical issues relating to the use of technologies. According to the preferences of this group of investigation, we want to analyse their education applicability in contexts of hospitalization.

Keywords:

Technologies, Accessibility, Pediatrics, Hospital, Education.