Explorative scenarios
Stories from potential stakeholders reveal what matters to them
Information that has been obtained during the explorative phase of the project was used to create scenarios that explore the context. Based on this exploration, the strategy of the assignment was shaped. By doing so, we became familiar with the driving forces that influence the design domain and the threats and opportunities that could arise.
Scenario 1: Children Are Isolated and Lonely in Hospital
Marie is a 6-year-old girl and in primary school. She has chronic kidney disease which will eventually result in kidney failure. As a result, she has to be admitted into hospital several times a year. She has to stay for at least 2 weeks at a time for treatments. Her parents both have to work, but they try to alternate in staying with her for periods of time. However, they cannot be there all the time. She also has to miss her school friends. Some of her friends do come and visit, but they can only come during visiting hours. When she stays in the hospital wards, she often feels isolated and lonely. She does go and play with the other children on the ward in between treatments, but she often has to be connected to a machine, so she often has to stay in her room. Marie has some things she can do by herself, she has a colouring book and a small puzzle, but she does miss playing with other children.
Scenario 2: Children Who Are Shy and Afraid in the Hospital
Sarah is a 5-year-old girl that has to stay in the hospital for her treatment. She lives in a warm family together with her parents and older 8-year-old sister, half an hour from the hospital. Sarah is shy and a little scared of the hospital environment. She remains quiet and does not say much. The room she stayed in is for her alone, which makes contact with other children more difficult for her. Because she is so scared, her mother stays in the Ronald McDonald’s house or sleeps in her room. Sarah likes to play with Playmobil in the shared playroom. This is the place where you can always find her. Her mother brought some toys from home to the hospital, to make everything more familiar and less scary for her.
Her parents are worried and visit Sarah as much as possible. Her treatment contains a lot of risks. They try not to let Sarah notice that they are worried, but Sarah is sensitive and notices precisely that they are worried; this makes her unconsciously afraid. When her sister visits, they play together. Her sister always takes her outside and forces her to play with the other children as well. With her sister, Sarah is less shy and dares to play with the other children outside as well. During the visiting hour with Sarah’s sister, Sarah is really exhausted and needs to rest the rest of the day.
Scenario 3: Parents Want the Best for Their Children
Amy and Josh are the parents of Mitchell, a seven-year-old boy. When Mitchell was born, he was diagnosed with heart defects that typically require multiple surgeries over time to fix. Amy and Josh want nothing more than a normal childhood for their son, so they embark on a journey to get Mitchell the care he needed. Mitchell needs a complex operation to repair one of his heart valves. It would be his second surgery. The goal is to repair, rather than replace the valve. Repairing the valve would allow Mitchell to be an active kid, kicking soccer balls and shooting hoops like others of his age. Without the operation, Mitchell's heart would continue to enlarge, eventually leading to heart failure. It is very important to them that Mitchell could play like other boys his age, as an active family, they do not want Mitchell to miss out on anything. They also do not want Mitchell to feel rejected by his teammates in the football club.
Scenario 4: Children Will Remain Afraid of Procedures and Employees in the Hospital
Chris is a nurse within a children’s hospital. He is a 28-year-old men and has been working in this environment for only two years, after having finished his studies in healthcare. What is special about this type of hospital, is that children will be staying there for a longer period of time. During the hospitalization, the child is faced with a limited amount of employees. Chris supports this personal approach, as it helps to shape a relation with the patient. This should also strengthen the faith and trust of patients.
He is about to tell one of his patients more about a complicated procedure. Although he has a bit of experience in doing so, Chris remains a bit nervous. Every child is different on their own and has a different experience of the hospital, by age, character and other aspects. Therefore, Chris carefully thinks of his approach to this young patient, as he does not want to make the child more anxious. On the contrary, by informing the child about what will happen, Chris aims to relieve the child for a bit. In his opinion, this could be done by firstly asking the child about their feelings and emotions at that moment, thus showing his understanding of their experience.
Scenario 5: Children’s Sections in the Hospital Have a Positive Influence on the Experience of Being in a Hospital
Marline is the 38-year-old mother of Kathy, her 9-year-old daughter. This morning during gym class in elementary school, Kathy fell off a bench and injured her arm. After Marline received a phone call from her daughter’s teacher, she picked Kathy up and drove to the hospital. They have to go to the first aid section for further inspection of the injury. In the waiting room, Marline tries to calm herself and Kathy down for a bit, as Kathy can only think of the pain in her arm. One of the employees refers them to a special section for children in the hospital, as the waiting time will be longer than expected.
As the two walk into this new room, Marline notices that this section is very different from the other room. The colours give her a pleasant feeling. Kathy even stops crying for a bit and is overwhelmed by this new room. “Look mom, they even have a lion here!” Kathy says and immediately wants to run towards the painting of the animal. Marline knows how much Kathy likes animals and walks to the lion as well. Both feel a bit more relaxed within the environment.