Can an interactive application be used to collect meaningful feedback from paediatric patients and their parents in a hospital setting?

The objective of this study was to determine the acceptability of using an interactive application (Fabio the Frog) to understand the experiences and perspectives of children and parents/carers regarding their health care encounter for the purpose of quality improvement and consumer feedback. Children’s perspectives of their healthcare were collected via the interactive application through the use of a validated survey, the Children’s Perceptions of Healthcare Survey (CPHS). The acceptability of eliciting views from children and parents via an interactive application platform was collected using an additional survey designed for this purpose. Data were collected in two phases. Overall, healthcare experiences were found to be positive across key areas including communication, care delivery, hospital environment, and interaction with staff. The application was identified as easy and fun to use from the perspective of children (n=96) and parents/carers (n=79). Parents/carers also responded positively to the ease and enjoyment they observed when their child was using this tool. Staff appreciated that eliciting children’s responses to their care helps to inform high quality care. The interactive application - Fabio the Frog - was a successful strategy for understanding children’s experience across a range of ages, abilities and medical conditions. The study demonstrated the acceptability of an application as an engaging and valuable means to collect meaningful feedback from children and their families. Nevertheless, limitations were noted in the practicality of providing an application to patients in a busy clinical environment. Additionally, the authors recognise that a greater challenge lies in finding ways to incorporate feedback into improving the patient experience