Hoareau, L.

Background. More than 295,000 people have been identied with bleeding disorders worldwide, the majority being hemophiliacs (184,560; data from the World Federation of Hemophilia, 2017). Hemophilia poses a paradox: Physical activity is recommended for children with hemophilia for the sake of their health and to promote inclusion, but teachers are reluctant to involve them in sports at school. School psychologists play a key role in helping patients and their families adapt and learn to cope with their new reality, and they provide psychosocial support by helping patients and their families develop strategies to cope with physical, mental, emotional, and social challenges related to hemophilia.

Objective. The objective of this study is to include children with hemophilia, and their parents and teachers, in a participatory process to design an innovative digital tool for modifying mental representations of parents and teachers about the importance of physical activity and sports at school for hemophiliacs.

Design. The present study is based on a pre-/post-test design where the mental representation about hemophilia of all individuals concerned (16 children with hemophilia: mean age = 7.8 years, SD = 1.9; their parents; and their teachers) is collected twice: at the beginning (pre-test) and at the end (post-test) of the process of collaborative game design.

Results. Even though fathers, mothers, and teachers perceive some sports as more risky than others (e.g., rugby, soccer, cycling), they modied their opinions positively about the necessity of physical activity and sports at school for children with hemophilia. The results showed that the collaborative design of this prototype of an innovative educational tool positively influenced the opinions of fathers, mothers, and teachers about the role of physical activity and sports at school, for their children with hemophilia.

Conclusion. Although the choice of physical activity or sport must be individual and must be discussed with the psychologist, parents, teachers, and children, this hemophilia “team” must discuss the risks and benefits of different sports, taking account of the physical and psychological conditions, because for all these children, physical activity and exercise have many positive benefits for health and can help self-esteem, learning, and inclusion in schools.