Interaction Design in Helping Child Anxiety
Abstract
Anxiety disorder is becoming common among children, which can lead to serious disorders and consequences for the rest of their lives, if it is not perceived and treated during the first periods of life.
Using cognitive behavioral therapy, which holds the greatest evidence in prevention and treatment of anxiety, combined with biosensors and machine learning, we developed a system, that through its interactions with children, promotes well-being and increased quality of life, since it can assist in prevention, warning and control of anxiety and panic attacks in children.
We carried out literature review, questionnaires and exploratory interviews. From this we devised a system through prototypes and simulations, considering children, their parents/caregivers and health professionals, as well as customization, portability and user experience. To evaluate the core part of the system, a set of tasks able to calm children during an anxiety/panic attack, we conducted an expert survey with child psychologists and a direct observation plus questionnaire with children.
Our system is based on a smartwatch that collects physiological data and holds a set of tasks that redirects the focus from the anxiety attack to a calm state, according to children signals. The system integrates an algorithm that, in addition to collecting physiological signals, processes and displays it in a mobile application, available for psychologists and parents, which holds preventive resources.
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