Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Research related to the benefits of gaming on a child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development has
increased the need for “gamifying” medical interventions to increase pediatric coping with hospitalization. The
Kentucky Children’s Hospital Child Life Team has had small glimpses into the value of gaming for hospitalized
children. As shared by one of our parents, “The value of gaming has been therapeutic in helping our son adjust
to life without his sibling. At the hospital, ‘gaming’ allowed a distraction from the heavy reality of what was
going on around. Gaming has helped ‘my son’ cope with loss and process grief in an appropriate way, and at
an appropriate pace for his age.”
This opinion and many other patient interactions and current research have led to increased requests from
across the hospital for access to technology resources that support patients during hospitalization and
treatment. To answer these requests, the child life department has begun to expand gaming resources
available within the hospital to ensure these best-practice standards within the hospital environment.
Unfortunately, our team currently lacks “tech-savvy” knowledge for therapeutic usage of technology and
gaming despite having the equipment. This expertise knowledge gap results in limited gaming technologies
during patient treatments.
Through the Child’s Play Charity grant, we request funds to support a Gaming Child Life Specialist who will
provide expertise and coordinate our gaming technology program. The Gaming Child Life Specialist on the
child life team will develop an all-encompassing and quality therapeutic gaming program within Kentucky
Children''s Hospital that supports pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients'' unique needs. Hiring a staff
person focused solely on the therapeutic use of technology with pediatric patients will expand and enhance our
medical team''s resources for the patients and families of Kentucky.
Status | Active |
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Effective start/end date | 12/1/22 → 11/30/24 |
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