Celebrating Milestones: Design to Empower & Reduce Uncertainty for Families on Their Neonatal Journey

Abstract

This project explores how educational resources for parents navigating neonatal care in New Zealand could be better designed using a human-centred design approach. In New Zealand, there has been considerable work done in neonatal care across various hospitals and former District Health Boards (DHBs) to provide education and support to parents. However, this information is scattered in different mediums—digital media, apps, websites, books, paper copies, booklets, brochures or is being passed on verbally. Moreover, resources largely differ in content and volume from one hospital to another. Historically, we went from having limited information on infant-care, to an overwhelming amount with conflicting messages. The findings of this research point to there being a need for a family-integrated resource for whānau of neonates staying in Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) that celebrate milestones and facilitate effective communication between all those involved in the care team. A key insight from this research was the need to reimagine how we deliver vital information about the neonate’s treatment and care to whānau in a way that is empowering and trauma sensitive, as they prepare to transition from hospital to home. This research was conducted using a human-centered design approach to identify the unmet needs of parents of premature babies navigating neonatal care, define areas for potential improvement, and explore how design can contribute to address these.