This study by Lisa Aufegger , Khánh Hà Bùi, Colin Bicknell and Ara Darzi explores how to design a digital hospital information system for pediatric patients and their families. This co-design process included feedback from children, their parents and careers and healthcare professionals on better ways to prepare children for hospital admissions and reduce anxiety through clear, engaging, age-appropriate information delivery.
This study was divided into 2 parts. Part one included a surveys of parents and clinicians about perceptions and needs for such a healthcare admission tool and part two was a co-design workshop with children and parents to gather ideas on what information should be included and how it should be presented.
Part One: Patient & Clinician Survey
From the survey in part one, the feedback was divided into 4 sections:
The prospect of a hospital information system for children (parents)
Patients supported the idea of a child-focused hospital information system as they believed
- Providing age-appropriate medical knowledge and information about the hospital admission would increase both the child and parents confidence, reduce stress, anxiety and fear of the unknown.
- Increase parental confidence in clinicians
- Help children pass waiting time more positively by learning about the hospital in an engaging, non-threatening way.
Content-specific information needs (parents & clinicians)
Parents acknowledged:
- The need for children to know about the hospital environment and the roles and responsibilities of healthcare staff.
- More emphasis and support on personal preparation at point of entry to hospital admission such as over-nights, whether they can bring personal items, what is needed and whether and what facilities are available for them.
- Providing children and carers with an estimated timeline as to how long the admission or treatment will take
- Clearer and more available information on the treatment process. This medical information should also be easy to understand for parents and conveyable to their children.
Clinicians acknowledged: