Master’s Project

Project Overview

My Master’s Project adapts earlier thesis work into a practical instructional design project. A Social Robot as a Health Educator for Heart Failure Patients explored the use of a social robot named Sheila as a patient health educator for adults living with heart failure in rural Southeast Kansas. I developed the instructional prototype using the Furhat social robot platform and the ADDIE instructional design model. The project addressed a common instructional gap in healthcare which is limited time for healthcare providers to deliver comprehensive patient education during brief clinical encounters that often last less than 15 minutes. The instructional intervention employed the teach-back method, which is an evidence-based educational strategy frequently used in healthcare settings. Teach-back requires learners to explain concepts in their own words while receiving immediate feedback and reinforcement. The project investigated whether a social robot could provide clear, consistent, engaging heart failure education. The learning module focused on medications, diet and fluid restrictions, symptom monitoring, daily weights, and when to seek medical attention. The pilot findings suggested that participants generally responded positively to the interaction. Additionally, short-term learning improvements in heart failure knowledge were observed following the robot-mediated educational intervention.

Project Phases