BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:Linklings LLC BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York X-LIC-LOCATION:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:19700308T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=3;BYDAY=2SU END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:19701101T020000 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=11;BYDAY=1SU END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260715T161117Z LOCATION:Rhinelander Gallery DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260323T164500 DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260323T181500 UID:HFESHCS_2026 International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics i n Health Care_sess106_POST235@linklings.com SUMMARY:From Fear to Trust: Human-Centred Kansei ‎Engineering Applications in Pediatric Nuclear ‎Medicine DESCRIPTION:Zeinab Paymani (Tehran University of Medical Sciences); Saeede h Mosaferchi (University of Salerno); and Maryam Tabibzadeh (California St ate University, Northridge)\n\nSummary\n\nBackground: Patient safety is a fundamental priority in pediatric nuclear medicine, where ‎the combination ‎of radiopharmaceutical injections and diagnostic imaging often triggers high ‎levels of fear ‎and resistance among young patients. They frequently displayed crying, ‎screaming, and disruptive ‎movements during injection and imaging processes, creating risks ‎for both themselves and ‎healthcare providers. Moreover, patients are typically accompanied ‎by only one pare nt or caregiver due to ‎radiation safety protocols. After the injection of ‎radiopharmaceuticals, caregivers are ‎required to leave the room, with c ontact limited to ‎viewing their child through small ‎observation windows. This separation often heightened ‎anxiety for both children and ‎families , which in some cases is expressed as frustration toward ‎healthcare staff . Combined ‎with the demands of working in a high-stress environment, thes e ‎conditions contribute to the ‎loss of experienced pediatric nurses–prof essionals who are ‎especially difficult to replace ‎given the specialized skills required in pediatric venous access ‎and patient care.‎\n\nObjectiv e: These combined factors highlight the need for human-centred design stra tegies to ‎improve ‎the emotional experience for patients, families, and h ealthcare providers in pediatric ‎nuclear ‎medicine. To address these chal lenges, this study applied Kansei Engineering ‎principles to ‎design affec tive, child-centred interventions, which resulted in reduced anxiety ‎and improved procedural ‎safety. Kansei Engineering is a user-centred product development ‎methodology extending ‎traditional Ergonomics by translating consumers’ psychological ‎feelings, emotions, and ‎impressions into design elements and engineering parameters (1). By ‎systematically ‎linking subj ective experiences with objective design features, it enables ‎designers a nd ‎engineers to create products that evoke desired affective responses wh ile ‎meeting functional ‎requirements.‎\n\nMethods: This study was conduct ed at a pediatric nuclear ‎medicine imaging division of a ‎hospital with 2 00 participants, as children aged 5–11 years (mean age 7.5), over a two-mo nth ‎data collection period. Baseline observations were obtained during a three-month pre-‎intervention period in which nursing staff – ‎who had bee n informed that the interventions ‎would begin approximately three months later‎ – ‎continued routine care without any Kansei-‎based or affective en hancements. More than twice the number of children included in the ‎interv ention phase were observed during this period, and none of the children in the ‎intervention cohort had prior exposure to the department or the inte rventions. These ‎observations served as the reference for assessing chang es in cooperation, anxiety, and safety. ‎This pre-intervention phase allow ed us to establish a clear baseline for comparison, ensuring ‎that any obs erved changes during the intervention could be attributed to the Kansei-ba sed ‎enhancements. The logic behind the study design and developed interve ntions were guided by ‎both previous literature and cultural consideration s to maximize engagement and reduce ‎anxiety. ‎\n\nThe interventions invol ved three components. First, small handcrafted felt dolls (turtle, ‎‎rabbi t, chick, and lion‎ – animal figures symbolizing friendliness or strength) were introduced ‎‎at ‎the injection phase, which children could pick from and receive, as a reward, after they had ‎‎their injection. Referring to the concept of animal-assisted therapy (AAT) (2), which involves ‎introduc ing an animal to individuals to foster beneficial effects on their health and well-‎being, the selection of these animals was guided by existing lit erature as well as ‎considerations of the relevant cultural context (3, 4) . The dolls were ordered to be specifically ‎designed and produced using ‎ Kansei Engineering principles. Children were also encouraged ‎to describe the reasons for ‎their choice of doll. This initiated additional conversat ions to ‎further distract the children and ‎reduce their anxiety. In cases of continued crying or ‎resistance, they were further motivated ‎by the p romise of receiving an additional doll if they ‎cooperated calmly and expl ained their ‎preference in more detail.‎‏ ‏\n\nSecond, in line with the do ll therapy (DT) approach and its documented benefits (5), a large ‎fluffy doll was placed in the waiting area, where children remained for approxima tely an hour ‎before entering the imaging room. This arrangement was inten ded to promote tactile and ‎verbal interaction, thereby helping to reduce the children’s perception of waiting time. Their ‎textures and colours ‎we re carefully selected based on Kansei Engineering principles to evoke ‎com fort and positive ‎emotions (6). To maintain awareness of the hospital con text, the dolls ‎were arranged in small ‎hospital beds within the waiting area, subtly reinforcing the medical ‎setting while softening ‎its atmosph ere.‎\nThird, the imaging (CT scan) room ceiling featured a forest scene w ith trees and a smiling ‎monkey, as patients would look at the ceiling whi le laying down for their procedure. Nurses ‎prompted children to describe the scene during imaging, redirecting patients’ attention away ‎‎from the procedure (7). ‎\n\nResults: Results demonstrated a marked improvement in cooperation and safety. Most boys ‎showed a ‎clear preference for the lion doll (approximately 80%), while girls mainly chose the ‎rabbit ‎(about 60 %) or the chick (around 30%). Boys often associated the lion with strength ‎and resilience, expressing that it made them feel powerful and less sens itive to pain. In ‎contrast, girls emphasized the comforting and soothing presence of the animals, reporting that ‎they helped alleviate feelings of discomfort. In addition, regarding the ceiling, children ‎reported being curious about the monkey’s actions during imaging and felt that time ‎pass ed ‎quickly, indicating it served as an effective positive distraction (8) .‎ In total, over 75% of ‎children expressed enthusiasm ‎to complete the i njection in order to obtain their toy as the ‎reward. Compared with baseli ne ‎observations of patients who had not previously received ‎such interve ntions, severe crying and ‎resistance were reduced by nearly 80%, and disr uptive ‎or unsafe movements declined to less ‎than 15%. Furthermore, most younger children (i.e., ‎those under 6 years old) fell asleep during imagi ng, indicating substantial relaxation.‎\n\nConclusion: These findings, obt ained through direct ‎observations, confirm the effectiveness ‎of Kansei E ngineering in pediatric nuclear medicine. ‎By aligning design elements wit h ‎children’s affective needs, healthcare teams can ‎create safer, calmer environments that benefit ‎both patients and healthcare staff. While child ren showed strong verbal engagement with all ‎three interventions, it is r ecommended that even if implementing all interventions ‎simultaneously is not feasible, applying them individually can still be beneficial.‎\n\n\nRe ferences\n‎1.‎ Nagamachi, M. (2002). Kansei engineering as a powerful cons umer-oriented ‎technology for product development. Applied ergonomics, 33( 3), 289-294.‎\n‎2.‎ Palley, L. S., O’Rourke, P. P., & Niemi, S. M. (2010). Mainstreaming animal-assisted ‎therapy. ILAR journal, 51(3), 199-207.‎\n‎ 3.‎ Jalongo, M. R., & Guth, L. J. (2023). Animal-assisted counseling for y oung children: ‎Evidence base, best practices, and future prospects. Early Childhood Education ‎Journal, 51(6), 1035-1045.‎\n‎4.‎ Součková, M., Přib ylová, L., Jurčová, L., & Chaloupková, H. (2023). Behavioural ‎reactions o f rabbits during AAI sessions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 262, ‎‎10 5908.‎\n‎5.‎ Santagata, F., Massaia, M., & D’Amelio, P. (2021). The doll t herapy as a first line ‎treatment for behavioral and psychologic symptoms of dementia in nursing homes ‎residents: a randomized, controlled study. B MC geriatrics, 21(1), 545.‎\n‎6.‎ Rosen, B. G., Eriksson, L., & Bergman, M . (2016). Kansei, surfaces and perception ‎engineering. Surface Topography : Metrology and Properties, 4(3), 033001.‎\n‎7.‎ Biddle, K. S., Boggs, L. M., Wolfe, M. L., Rogers, S., Petersen, C. M., King-Singh, ‎K., ... & Fish -Huson, C. (2025). Healing ceilings: A collaborative exploration of ‎pedia tric preferences in ceiling tile artwork. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 81 , e96-‎e105.‎\n‎8.‎ Jiang, S. (2020). Positive distractions and play in th e public spaces of pediatric ‎healthcare environments: A literature review . HERD: Health Environments Research ‎& Design Journal, 13(3), 171-197.‎\n \nTrack: Digital Health, Hospital Environments, Patient Safety Research an d Initiatives, Medical and Drug Delivery Devices, Simulation and Education \n\n END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR