Introduction

Children’s right to participation is highlighted in laws and convention texts. Likewise, children express the importance of being involved in situations affecting them. Being involved enables them to express the own perspective. In recent years, children’s use of interactive technology in tablets and smartphones has increased. The use of technology is also increasing within healthcare and pediatric contexts. This research project aimed to develop and test an application, as an interactive communication tool [IACTA], meant to facilitate young children’s participation in healthcare situations when guided by professionals.

Methods

Children’s perceptions of healthcare situations were sought through interviews, vignettes and drawings. A participatory design process transformed these perceptions into iteratively evolving prototypes of an application, IACTA. In healthcare situations, video observations captured cues of participation demonstrated by the children when using the application guided by professionals. Further a quantitative approach identified the distribution of the cue usage. In total, 114 children participated in the project, in two clinical settings and a preschool.

Results

The children perceived everyone involved in a healthcare situation as actors by their own. Their perceptions of what was important were transformed into the software of IACTA. The children were co-designers in the development process of the applications and contributed to its age-appropriateness, usability and likeability. When the final version of the application was tested in healthcare situations, the children demonstrated participation cues, meant as curious, thoughtful and affirmative. The distribution revealed that curious cues were mainly demonstrated. Age and earlier experiences of healthcare situations influenced how the cues were demonstrated.

Conclusion

Searching the children’s perspective, when using IACTA, revealed a situated participation based on their inter-inter-action with the application itself and the professionals. This situated participation guided the professionals how to facilitate and best involve the specific child in the situation in an individualized way.