Podcast "Radio Jojo" brings children closer to the hospital world of the UKBB

What is an anaesthetic and does every child wake up from it? How does the food get to the hospital bed and who cleans it up? Why do I get a finger prick and what journey does my blood go on afterwards? What is it like to live with glass bones, does the hospital car go tü-tüüü or tü-tü-taa - and what does a paediatric surgeon actually earn?

Exploring the hospital world with reporter mouse Jojo

Whether they are siblings or patients, children have many questions when they come to hospital or have been there for a long time. Some of these questions also harbour fears. Most of the time, however, they are fuelled by pure curiosity. Finally there is someone at UKBB who is persistently getting to the bottom of all these questions.

It's the reporter mouse Jojo. She also gives her name to the hospital podcast "Radio Jojo". During her research at the UKBB, she takes the many questions, ideas and wishes of the hospital children with her. And then she simply talks to everyone. She interviews specialists from medicine, nursing and therapy as well as the patient car driver, the laboratory manager and the hospital bed cleaner. She talks to hospital children, their siblings, parents and other relatives and, in between, philosophises about the hospital world with the necessary pinch of humour or fulfils children's music requests.

Each programme is dedicated to a specific topic. Through the conversations and thoughts of the reporter mouse, the listening children learn many unknown, interesting and surprising things. In this way, they can prepare themselves for an upcoming hospital visit and reduce any fears they may have. Or they develop a better understanding of kindergarten and school children who have to be treated in hospital due to illness. And they always have the opportunity to learn inspiring ways of dealing with impairments.

Successful experiment

"Originally, we just wanted to make an entertaining hospital radio programme that would connect patients, relatives and hospital staff. We first brought the programmes to the children on the ward with 'Hörberts'," explains Annette Schneider, Co-Head of Nursing on the oncology ward at UKBB. She launched the project together with Regula Inauen and Léo Streck, who are otherwise on the road as dream doctors for the Theodora Foundation at UKBB. For the podcast, the three of them take on different roles and together form an independent editorial team.

After an initial experimental phase, the radio project eventually became a podcast. "A lot of work goes into every episode," explains Annette Schneider. "By the time it's published, the patients involved have usually already been discharged from hospital. Thanks to the podcast format, these children can still listen to their contributions and share them with their relatives and friends."

A project of the Pro UKBB Foundation

The podcast is now supported by the Pro UKBB Foundation, which provides loving additions to the UKBB with various projects. Managing Director Nicole Herrmann says: "The reporter mouse is a friend of our foundation mascot Boby and stirs up everyday hospital life with her lively curiosity. She raises awareness and communicates sometimes complex topics in a child-friendly way. The programmes playfully clarify, encourage and comfort. We are therefore convinced that 'Radio Jojo' will also arouse interest outside the UKBB. We are very pleased that we can count on the generous support of various sponsors for this project."

"Radio Jojo" is published six times a year. The published episodes can be viewed on the website www.radiojojo.ch can be streamed free of charge. Patients on the UKBB wards can also continue to listen to all episodes on the hospital's own audio tablets.