SchoolCare: A Social Intervention Introducing Telepresence Robots and School Navigation to Reduce School Fragmentation for Children Undergoing Cancer Treatment

Summary

Advances in pediatric cancer treatment have led to significant improvements in survival rates, where 5-year survival now exceeds 85%. Despite improved survival, children and adolescents who survive cancer often face significant short- and long-term psychosocial and physical late effects. Children undergoing cancer treatment often experience prolonged school absence, which disrupts their academic development and impedes critical socio-emotional growth during formative school years, with lasting consequences into adulthood. Together, these challenges underscore the need for targeted interventions that support educational continuity, promote school activity, and foster psychosocial well-being. The SchoolCare Intervention aims to reduce school absence experienced by children diagnosed with cancer during their treatment trajectory. The intervention introduces school navigation support in combination with the use of telepresence robots (TPRs) and a teleteaching program. TPRs enable the children to attend school remotely, when they are not able to attend physically. The study is designed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention throughout a period of eight months for school-aged children (i.e., 5-17 years) who are diagnosed with cancer. The investigators hypothesize that telepresence robots will increase school attendance among children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer, representing our primary outcome (H1). Additionally, the investigators explore secondary outcomes by hypothesizing that the intervention will improve the social well-being of these children and adolescents (H2) and enhance their academic level (H3). By focusing on both school attendance and broader psychosocial and academic effects, this study will provide a comprehensive evaluation of the telepresence robot intervention and its potential to support educational continuity and well-being for children with cancer.

Eligibility

Children and adolescents are eligible for inclusion if they meet the following criteria: they are: (1) diagnosed with cancer or cancer-like diseases withing two months of inclusion (e.g., benign brain tumors, MDS, or LCH ); (2) have undergone a stem cell transplant, or have experienced cancer relapse or disease progression within the two months of inclusion; (3) aged 5-17 years; (4) admitted to the pediatric oncology ward at Copenhagen University Hospital, Aarhus University Hospital, or Aalborg University Hospital; (5) expected to experience disrupted schooling, defined as absence of more than one school day per week over an anticipated period of eight months; and (6) enrolled, or expected enrolment, in a school in Denmark during the eight month intervention period.

Participants will be excluded if: (1) the children in intervention arm B obtain a telepresence robot outside of the SchoolCare intervention; (2) the child is unable to communicate in Danish; or (3) the child has physical or cognitive impairments that prevent them from operating or meaningfully engaging with the telepresence robot. Assessment of the latter criterion will be conducted jointly by hospital personnel and the school navigator to determine whether the child is likely to benefit from participation in the intervention. All reasons for exclusion will be documented and reported in accordance with CONSORT guidelines \[47\] supplemented by the CONSORT-SPI extended version of social and psychological interventions \[48\]. Parents and teachers of the participating children will also be included in the study and invited to complete questionnaires as well as take part in semi-structured interviews. Recruitment began on February 1st, 2026.

Conditions5

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