Growing With the Condition: Co-Designing Pediatric Technologies that Adapt Across Developmental Stages

TL;DR

This study co-designed adaptable pediatric health technologies by engaging children with congenital heart disease across developmental stages, revealing distinct coping strategies and informing age-appropriate design features.

Contribution

It provides empirical insights into developmental differences in managing chronic conditions and proposes adaptable design implications for pediatric health technologies.

Findings

Elementary children rely on comfort objects and reassurance.

Middle schoolers prefer mediated communication and selective disclosure.

High schoolers focus on agency and peer engagement.

Abstract

Children with chronic conditions face evolving challenges in daily activities, peer relationships, and clinical care. Younger children often rely on parental support, while older ones seek independence. Prior studies on chronic conditions explored proxy-based, family-centered, and playful approaches to support children's health, but most technologies treat children as a homogeneous group rather than adapting to their developmental differences. To address this gap, we conducted four co-design workshops with 69 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) at a medically supported camp, spanning elementary, middle, and high school groups. Our analysis reveals distinct coping strategies: elementary children relied on comfort objects and reassurance, middle schoolers used mediated communication and selective disclosure, and high schoolers emphasized agency and direct engagement with peers and providers. Through child-centered participatory design, we contribute empirical insights into how children's management of chronic conditions evolves and propose design implications for pediatric health technologies that adapt across developmental trajectories.