ABOUT

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of the top research institutes in the world. People travel from all over the globe to receive treatment from the innovative doctors and researchers at NIH. Situated on NIH’s campus is a small non-profit, The Children’s Inn, provides children receiving treatment and their families lodging, programming, and at times monetary assistance completely free of charge.

Given the unique emotional burden experienced by families residing at the Inn, the smallest details of their experience can often have the greatest impact on their ability to thrive as a family. For this reason, our team utilized Design Thinking methodologies to develop an impactful and meaningful solution that could improve the lives of the families and children at the Inn.

 

Process

Interviews & Ethnographic Research

To better understand the underlying challenges of families and patients staying at The Children’s Inn, we interviewed 13 people including patients, caregivers, staff, and volunteers for a total of 37 documented hours of dedicated interview time. Our research also took place in the form of:

  • Kick-off session with key staff and volunteers
  • Shadow observation of staff, volunteers, family, and patients
  • Facility overnight
  • Collection of existing data and materials

 

Synthesis

After conducting comprehensive research at the Children’s Inn we began a thoughtful analysis of the information gathered to identify where there was potential to create great experiences for stakeholders. Our worked directly with stakeholders to brainstorm innovative and viable digital solutions through ideation sessions with

  • Key staff, volunteers, families, and patients
  • Follow-up interviews with participants

 

Ideation

Our research and analysis with the Children’s Inn revealed a series of areas where the experiences of children and caregivers could be greatly improved. After a prioritization session to highlight the solutions with the potential for greatest impact, our team of designers and developers created three concepts that are still being tested and iterated.

“I cannot say enough praise about this group. Your team was extremely compassionate, organized and hardworking, and we felt as though you were an extension of our own staff. We look forward to implementing our new solution and seeing the positive impact it makes on the lives of families with seriously ill children that stay at The Children’s Inn during treatments at the NIH
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