Tom Monshouwer

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About

Tom Monshouwer is a researcher at the intersection of child health, human-robot interaction, and clinical psychology. His primary research focuses on leveraging social robotics to mitigate acute pain and anxiety in pediatric patients during medical procedures. His most cited work, "Mitigating Children’s Pain and Anxiety during Blood Draw Using Social Robots" (2021, 31 citations), represents a significant contribution to pediatric care. The study demonstrated how social robots can serve as effective non-pharmacological distractions during venipuncture and capillary blood sampling—procedures that typically cause high distress in young patients. By showing that robotic interventions can reduce treatment times and healthcare worker burden while improving the patient experience, Monshouwer has helped bridge the gap between emerging robotics technology and real-world clinical applications. His work is particularly notable for addressing a pressing healthcare challenge: the need for scalable, engaging tools that can ease procedural anxiety without additional medication. For students and researchers in child-computer interaction or pediatric psychology, Monshouwer’s research offers a compelling model for designing human-centered robotic interventions that directly improve quality of care for vulnerable populations.