Where Are My Parents?: Information Needs of Hospitalized Children

We explore the information needs of hospitalized children by analyzing co-design prototypes created by children. We facilitated two simultaneous, yet separate co-design sessions with mixed groups including both children who had been hospitalized and siblings of children who had been hospitalized. The sessions focused on identifying information needs in the inpatient hospital setting. Our findings revealed that both hospitalized children and their siblings view information needs from multiple perspectives, including those of their parents, their physician, and of the hospitalized child themselves. Both co-design groups identified similar needs, including: communicating with people outside their room, tracking important people, and having entertainment for the hospitalized child.