SynthesisBMC pediatrics2024
The efficacy of socially assistive robots in improving children's pain and negative affectivity during needle-based invasive treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC pediatrics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Social Robots in Relieving Children's and Adolescents' Anxiety, Pain, Fear and Stress in Perioperative Nursing: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical nursing · 2026Pooled it
- Socially Assistive Robots for Pain Management and Emotional Responses in Pediatric Hospital Care: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Health Care Professionals' Perspectives of Socially Assistive Robots in Health Care Settings: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of Socially Assistive Robots in Promoting Positive Emotional Responses and Alleviating Postoperative Pain Among Children: Quantitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Can social robots improve the hospital experience of children?Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2026Article
- Alleviation of mycobacterial infection by impairing motility and biofilm formation via natural and synthetic molecules.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2025Review
- Evaluation of Pain and Anxiety Levels After Periodontal Treatment.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Article
- Bringing a socially assistive robot to the paediatric emergency department: design, development, and usability testing.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe ability of socially assistive robots (SARs) to treat dementia and Alzheimer's disease has been verified. Currently, to increase the range of their application, there is an increasing amount of interest in using SARs to relieve pain and negative emotions among children in routine medical settings. However, there is little consensus regarding the use of these robots.
objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of SARs on pain and negative affectivity among children undergoing invasive needle-based procedures.
designThis study was a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that was conducted in accordance with the Cochrane Handbook guidelines.
methodsThe PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, CNKI, and WanFang databases were searched from inception to January 2024 to identify relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs). We used the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool 2.0 (RoB2.0) to assess the risk of bias among the included studies, and we used RevMan 5.4 software to conduct the meta-analysis. The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) framework was used to assess the quality of the evidence.
resultsTen RCTs involving 815 pediatric subjects were selected for this review and reported outcomes related to pain and emotions during IV placement, port needle insertion, flu vaccination, blood sampling, and dental treatment. Children undergoing needle-related procedures with SARs reported less anxiety (SMD= -0.36; 95% CI= -0.64, -0.09) and fewer distressed avoidance behaviors (SMD= -0.67; 95% CI= -1.04, -0.30) than did those receiving typical care. There were nonsignificant differences between these groups in terms of in pain (SMD = -0.02; 95% CI = - 0.81, 0.78) and fear (SMD = 0.38; 95% CI= -0.06, 0.82). The results of exploratory subgroup analyses revealed no statistically significant differences based on the intervention type of robots or anesthetic use.
conclusionsThe use of SARs is a promising intervention method for alleviating anxiety and distress among children undergoing needle-related procedures. However, additional high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to further validate these conclusions.
trial registrationThe protocol of this study has been registered in the database PROSPERO (registration ID: CRD42023413279).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.