Gamified, Flexible, and Creative Tools for Evaluating a Support Program for Palliative Children and Their Families

This article explores the innovative evaluation methods developed for Starlight Children’s Foundation’s palliative care program, Moments . This approach focuses on capturing feedback from children and families in a flexible, creative manner while minimising evaluation burden. A review of the literature revealed an absence of standardised tools for evaluating programs in palliative care, especially those involving children. However, research shows that participatory and child-friendly evaluation techniques enhance engagement and provide valuable insights into program impact, amplifying children’s voices in a context where they are often underrepresented. In response, Starlight developed novel gamified evaluation activity books and worksheets tailored to various developmental stages, enabling children to share their feedback in a playful, meaningful way that aligns with the program’s nature. Based on our work, we recommend (a) using gamified and participatory methods that actively involve children; (b) creating multiple formats suited to different ages using plain language; (c) applying opt-in recruitment while being mindful of timing; (d) offering clear, flexible participation options such as explainer videos and both digital and physical submissions; and (e) maintaining rigorous ethical standards. These findings add to broader research on program evaluation and highlight the importance of prioritising children’s perspectives, even in sensitive care contexts.