title: Use of a computer-based application in a pediatric hemodialysis unit: a pilot study.
abstract: This report describes preliminary efforts to implement a computer-based application, called Zora, in a pediatric hemodialysis unit. The feasibility and safety of establishing a virtual community in the hemodialysis unit are explored. Zora allows users to design and inhabit a graphical virtual city where they create characters, stories and spaces while communicating in real-time. Over a 5-month period, 7 hemodialysis patients and 4 unit staff found Zora enjoyable and safe. The results support the premise that computational environments may offer an opportunity for pediatric patients and their caregivers to participate in virtual communities that promote coping with chronic physical illnesses.
authors.affiliation: Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, Tufts University, 105 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, USA. marina.bers@tufts.edu
authors.forename: Marina Umaschi
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Bers
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Heydrich
authors.forename: David Ray
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Demaso
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003201:Computers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006436:Hemodialysis Units, Hospital; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D018910:Video Games