The first findings from the Wishlist-funded Fabio the Frog trial have been released.

The $65,000 ‘Fabio the Frog’ app, used at Nambour Hospital to capture the views and experiences of sick children and their parents, is a Queensland-first and was funded through proceeds from 2015 The House The Coast Built.

 

[caption id="attachment_852" align="alignleft" width="640"] Queensland-first: Noah Suesee was the first paediatric patient to trial the 'Fabio the Frog' app.[/caption]

 

Paediatric Project Officer Janelle O’Neill said the electronic survey system gave young patients the opportunity to provide feedback about their care through a fun and easy-to-use app.

“This project is proceeding well, with over six individual surveys completed, and some real changes occurring as a result of this project,” Ms O’Neill said.

“These include changes to the menu available to children at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital (SCUH) based on their preferences, copies of letters sent between Paediatricians and their GPs following outpatient appointments at the discretion of the Paediatrician and more choice of appointment times and types with the move to SCUH.”

Fabio the Frog is currently in its research phase with the survey explicitly targeting children’s experience, however other surveys underway include Parental Responses to Code Blue and Procedural Pain for Children.

“Of the responses received by children so far, 100 percent found the app easy to use, 80 percent found it enjoyable and 70 percent liked the character of Fabio and his friends,” Ms O’Neill added.

“92 percent of parents found the app easy to use, 75 percent found it enjoyable and more than 90 percent said their child needed little assistance to use.”

The app was designed in the UK and is aimed at finding out the experiences of paediatric patients, of which 32,500 are treated throughout the Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) each year.

The app features a cartoon frog named Fabio who does funny and silly things. Throughout the cartoon, Fabio stops and asks children how comfortable they feel on the ward or what they think of the lunch they were served.

Wishlist CEO Lisa Rowe said a portion of the $304,000 raised through The House The Coast Built auction led to the state-first trial.

“No other health service in Queensland has attempted to trial this, so it puts SCHHS on the map in this space, and it’s a wonderful example of how community fundraising can be used to directly benefit patients throughout the Sunshine Coast,” Ms Rowe said.