RX Radio, by and for children, is a project that aims to alleviate the stress, loneliness, and anxiety that children face in the hospital and improve their experiences of the hospital in multiple ways. It also aims to aid parents, health workers, and other children to better understand the experience of hospital and illness and enhance communication.
"While there are a number of children’s hospital radio stations globally, what makes RX Radio unique is that it involves patients as programme producers and broadcast presenters, with the explicit aim of sharing and improving children’s experiences of illness and hospital," says Dr Gabriel Urgoiti. The brainchild of Urgoiti and Sue Valentine, the station has been established by working with the Red Cross Children’s Hospital facility board and the Children’s Hospital Trust.
The R4.8-million project is currently being fundraised for by the Children’s Hospital Trust. It aims to alleviate children’s anxiety and loneliness while in hospital by giving sick children a platform to share their experiences, concerns, and questions with parents, health professionals, and other children.
It also aims to help sick children cope better with their illness and treatment, improve children’s well-being through access to recreational and learning activities, and sensitise parents and health workers to children’s experiences of illness and hospital.
"Children have the right to know as much as possible about matters that affect them, to understand and be involved with their illness, and the healthcare provided to them. They need information about the hospital environment and what is expected, their health condition, diagnostic procedures and treatment options, possible outcomes of these treatments, degree of likely pain and discomfort, and above all, to be able to ask questions and be reassured of the support and care they will receive from their parents, caregivers, and health workers. They also need to be entertained and to have fun," Urgoiti adds.
Child-produced radio is a developing field, with preliminary evidence pointing to positive outcomes for both children and adults. According to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, children in hospital are apprehensive and often experience high levels of tension. Research has shown, however, that a child’s comfort in hospital can be improved through access to stimulating, age-appropriate recreational and educational activities.
Urgoiti says, "There is also increasing recognition of the value that a child’s perspective can offer in order to improve hospital environments and experiences for children."
Louise Driver, CEO of the Children’s Hospital Trust, says, "The Children’s Hospital Trust strives to advance child healthcare through the Red Cross Children’s Hospital. This innovative and empowering project is the ideal platform for this. It gives some control to the children in what could otherwise feel quite a helpless situation. It also, quite literally, gives them a voice. We are so grateful to all of the donors and stakeholders who have made this project a reality."
For more information, visit www.rxradio.co.za. Alternatively, connect with them on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.