Sidekick!

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  Kids Dashboard

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  Kids Character Selection

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  Parents View

Description

As a child, every hospital visit I can remember was me being dragged around by my parents, not being told what was happening. There was often confusion about where we were supposed to be, and more often than not conversations that I wasn't a part of, even though I was the one being discussed.

With Sidekick, I wanted to tackle this sense of helplessness I felt as a child and use the recent trends in portable technology and tech to make the hospital a little more inviting to the hospitalized and visiting children. The core concept revolves around a fictional character known to the children as "sidekick". The sidekick is the trusted friend that encourages the child to be courageous, patient and above all, curious about their environment and treatment.

At it's essence, Sidekick is a character that can modified as time goes by. You can get Sidekick sunglasses, fancy hats, and even a robotic arm if you wanted. Though, in order to get Sidekick all these things, you need to explore your surroundings a bit more, get to know your care takers a bit more, take on challenges in the hospital and at home - all of which encourage you to be better, eat better food, take your medications, and plan your days ahead.

After a parent has signed in using their NYP account, it lists the associated Patient files with that account. Once they have selected the child they wish to add to the app, they now have a store of all relevant medical data for that child on their phone. They can view this, and also add to it. Once this process is complete, the game begins!

The app is structured such that a child is guided through the process of building up his/her character via one of the following methods:

1. Food
2. Adventure
3. Medication
4. Personal Diary

While in the hospital, the food segment rewards the player with coins for planning meals for the days ahead. Once they patient has been discharged, this section is used to reward better eating habits. Eat greens to collect 5 coins, cut down on candy to get 10 coins. All of these challenges can be approved by the parent or guardian with the simplicity of their fingerprint.

The adventure section sets up challenges for the child to encourage them to understand their surroundings. They explore the hospital on a virtual floor plan that has them seeking hidden treasures. Along the way, their care takers appear on the map providing them clues. It's not just about the individual experience though, players can Spread The Seed by leaving behind their items in different rooms, allowing everyone else who enters that room at a later date to pick it up for themselves. Options also include showing info / video relevant to different areas of the hospital when a character enters that zone.

The player is also asked whether they've given their Sidekicks their medication for the day. Rather than have the parent be the only person 'in the know' regarding medication schedules, the child is encouraged to be active in this process because they have a reward to gain for following through with their medication schedule. We could also use avenues such as this to educate the player on the medication they're consuming.

Lastly, the personal diary encourages the player to write about their experiences. Their Sidekick wants to know how they are feeling, whether they've had a good night's sleep, and also what their favourite movie is. He also quizzes them on who they're going to meet that day at the hospital, and gives them questions to pass on ("Hey doc, FlappyJacks would like to know who your favourite superhero is?").

List of FHIR Resources:

• Patient
• Encounters
• Allergies
• Medication
• CareTeam
• Immunizations
• Goals