The effect of an interactive robot on children's post-operative anxiety, mobilization, and parents' satisfaction; randomized controlled study

To evaluate the effect of an interactive robot on Turkish children's post-operative anxiety, mobilization, and parents' satisfaction related to post-operative care. A randomized controlled study was conducted with 84 children who will undergo day surgery aged 5–10 years and their parents at a university hospital between June 2020–April 2022. The interactive robot was provided to accompany the children during the postoperative mobilization. Children in the control group received standard care during mobilization. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Children's State Anxiety (CSA), Parental Satisfaction Scale-Visual Analog Scale, and Mobilization Chart. It was determined that the CSA score of the children in the control group were higher than the intervention group before their first mobilization after surgery (p = 0.005). During the first (p = 0.042) and second (p = 0.012) mobilization, it was determined that the mobilization duration of children in the intervention group was longer than the children in the control group. It was found that the parents of the children in the intervention group had a high level of satisfaction. It has been determined that interactive robots positively affect postoperative mobilization in children undergoing day surgery, reduce the anxiety level of children before mobilization, and increase the duration of mobilization. In addition, the use of interactive robots increased parents' satisfaction with post-operative mobilization care. Using interactive robots to reduce the stress and anxiety of children during the perioperative process can be a promising approach to improve their recovery by providing early mobilization. •Children generally experienced anxiety after the postoperative period and anxiety can be negative effects on children's mobilization and recovery.•The finding revealed that interactive robots reduce children's anxiety before mobilization, increase the duration of mobilization, and parents' satisfaction related to post-operative care.•Using interactive robots to reduce the stress and anxiety of children during the perioperative process can be a promising approach to improve their recovery by providing early mobilization.