Supporting value generation in children's hospital design through participatory approaches

This paper presents results of an ongoing PhD research, which aims to develop guidelines to help designers incorporate children's perspectives when designing children's hospitals. The paper discusses children's hospital design through participatory approaches and links it to the lean design literature, proposing new insights into value generation. The research method is a case study, in which the process of identifying children's preferences and considering these into the different stages of design is described. Data was collected through 16 semi-structured interviews. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and along with other documents analysed using content analysis. Results indicate that participation in design provides children with opportunities for voicing their view and ensures their requirements are available in all phases of the process. Such participation enables requirements not to be lost when progressively transformed into design solutions. The paper also discusses how realistic is it to consult with children, and which approaches may help design decision making for future children's hospital design.