Habity: Family companions

Habity: Family companions

Pofferi, L.

Rozendaal, M. (mentor)
Melles, M. (mentor)

Industrial Design Engineering

Design Engineering

2014-10-27

The project illustrated in this report has been conducted to provide a solution for the different physical and psychosocial issues that families experience during hospitalization due to childhood cancer. The pathology can greatly affect social and physical perspectives for children and their family, such as education, school, profession, marital relationships, family dynamics. Recurrent hospitalization is required to provide effective medical treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The diagnosis is the first challenge for a family’s balance. The information can generate feelings of anxiety, depression, denial and anger among the members of a family. Painful procedures, hospitalizations, and uncertain prognoses are common stressors that can pose a substantial threat to the adjustment of children and families to the acceptance of their diagnosis (Sloper, 2000). Recurrent treatments to fight the disease are disruptive for the family’s daily rhythm. The treatments usually divide the family into two contexts, the home and the hospital, disrupting the core of the family physically and socially, and therefore causing many difficulties to occur for parents and children. Dynamics and family routines are severely affected by these hospitalization periods. Daily routines such as eating together, watching television, gardening, and sitting together on the couch are important for a household. These activities can carry strong psychosocial values for every member of a family, especially when children are present. Sharing family dynamics enhance family discussions and the sharing of experiences, giving family members a sense of belonging, togetherness and buffers against family stress (Markson, Fiese 2000). A lack of cohesiveness can cause problems such as maternal depression (Grootenhuis, Last, 1997). Despite the several communication technologies that is currently available, a lack of communication and physical presence can cause a big stress for families during hospitalization. The goal of this project is to provide a solution for families that are coping with a disrupted family situation due to childhood cancer. The focus will be oriented towards the design of a solution that will be effective in restoring the most disrupted aspects in the normal daily life of a family. The aim of this project is to enhance the sense of connectedness and presence within the household.

childhood cancer
connectedness
family
sensory design

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:634962c2-fdd6-4446-8fb4-632746f1d638

Campus only

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2014 Pofferi, L.