Robotic Technology in Pediatric Neurorehabilitation. A Pilot Study of Human Factors in an Italian Pediatric Hospital

Francesco Gilardi, Federica De Falco, Daniela Casasanta, Martina Andellini, Simone Gazzellini, Maurizio Petrarca, Andreina Morocutti, Donatella Lettori, Matteo Ritrovato, Enrico Castelli, Massimiliano Raponi, Nicola Magnavita and Salvatore Zaffina
Additional contact information
Francesco Gilardi: Health Directorate, Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Federica De Falco: Health Directorate, Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Daniela Casasanta: Health Directorate, Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Martina Andellini: Health Technology Assessment Unit, Health Technology & Safety Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, 00165 Rome, Italy
Simone Gazzellini: Neurorehabilitation Units, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Maurizio Petrarca: Neurorehabilitation Units, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Andreina Morocutti: Neurorehabilitation Units, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Donatella Lettori: Neurorehabilitation Units, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Matteo Ritrovato: Health Technology Assessment Unit, Health Technology & Safety Research Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, 00165 Rome, Italy
Enrico Castelli: Neurorehabilitation Units, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Massimiliano Raponi: Health Directorate, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy
Nicola Magnavita: Post-Graduate School of Occupational Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy
Salvatore Zaffina: Health Directorate, Occupational Medicine Unit, Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, IRCCS, 00165 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: The introduction of robotic neurorehabilitation among the most recent technologies in pediatrics represents a new opportunity to treat pediatric patients. This study aims at evaluating the response of physiotherapists, patients and their parents to this new technology. The study considered the outcomes of technological innovation in physiotherapists (perception of the workload, satisfaction), as well as that in patients and their parents (quality of life, expectations, satisfaction) by comparing the answers to subjective questionnaires of those who made use of the new technology with those who used the traditional therapy. A total of 12 workers, 46 patients and 47 parents were enrolled in the study. Significant differences were recorded in the total workload score of physiotherapists who use the robotic technology compared with the traditional therapy ( p < 0.001). Patients reported a higher quality of life and satisfaction after the use of the robotic neurorehabilitation therapy. The parents of patients undergoing the robotic therapy have moderately higher expectations and satisfaction than those undergoing the traditional therapy. In this pilot study, the robotic neurorehabilitation technique involved a significant increase in the patients’ and parents’ expectations. As it frequently happens in the introduction of new technologies, physiotherapists perceived a greater workload. Further studies are needed to verify the results achieved.

Keywords: pediatric neurorehabilitation; robotic therapy; ergonomy; human factor; workload; quality of life; satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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