Books to help alleviate procedural anxiety for children facing serious illness or surgery in conjunction with Great Ormond Street Hospital

Abrams, Jake [Co-creator] and Potier, Georgina [Co-creator] (2021) Books to help alleviate procedural anxiety for children facing serious illness or surgery in conjunction with Great Ormond Street Hospital. My New Kidney/ My New Heart/ My SDR Operation/ My Operation/ My LD Operation. Hardback Books. Hardback Interactive Books.

Abstract

1. MISSION ‘To make kids who are really poorly feel better’. Our Purpose To provide witty and playful designs to help patients understand their treatment and get better. We are a nascent not-for-profit company using design skills to help patients feel less anxious and more empowered through their treatment journey. We help the NHS save money by minimising delays and cancellations. ‘the book is incredible – absolutely great in everything – information, fun, lovely graphics, exactly what is needed’ Jacqueline Wilson WHY? We exist to support patients through their clinical experience and make them feel less anxious and empowered. Currently there is a paucity of this sort of support and patients can feel overwhelmed and uninformed. There is compelling evidence that our interventions are really cost effective and save the NHS valuable time and resources. HOW? We create clear and witty communication design that explains the treatment journey in simple, step-by- step ways that everyone can understand. Beautifully designed, simple to use and absolutely user-friendly. WHAT? We create interactive designs that are really effective! From interactive books, through to apps, animations and plenty more too. Eminently silly, funny but underneath all this: utterly focused and serious. Our desired impact is simple. We want to support more and more patients and, to do this, we have ambitious plans to make a real difference in an ever-widening sphere. We have worked closely with the teams at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to pilot our products and now want to expand across healthcare in the UK and internationally. The innovation is eminently transferable and can work anywhere. We have already helped over 3750 children and have amassed fantastic feedback and plaudits. We will measure our impact by: • having a sustainable not-for-profit business that continues to grow and support more patients. • validating our work through research into the effectiveness of our interventions (we are currently doing this in conjunction with academics at GOSH). • continuing to receive positive feedback and endorsements. • receiving new commissions for new projects. • receiving repeat orders (this is already happening in the arenas we are working in). Our products are becoming part of the everyday dialogue between clinicians and patients. • expanding into new hospitals and healthcare environments. • expanding to work on a widening range of conditions. 2. SERVICE SUMMARY What market needs or problems are we addressing: • Poor patient experience. • Patients (and parents!) do not understand their condition and the required treatments. • Patient anxiety can cause expensive delays. • Time costs money in clinical environments. • Increased need for expensive human resources (anxious patients require Increased support). • There can be long term negative consequences of anxiety. • An anxious patient can create anxiety for all involved. • Lack of compliance with medical processes can necessitate additional or duplicate treatments. Up to 80% of children admitted to hospital with chronic illness experience anxiety from hospitalisation alone. Between 50% and 75% of children having surgery experience anxiety in the anaesthetic room. Between 24% and 60% of children will display dysfunctional behaviour within the 3 weeks following surgery. This takes the form of eating disorders, problems sleeping, nightmares, temper tantrums, bed- wetting and problems with authority. P.O.E.M.S for Children Charity (poemsforchildren.co.uk/about-us/) Compliance with medication is a key factor in successful kidney transplantation. Immunosuppressive medications are crucial to the transplanted kidney as these prevent the rejection of the organ by the host immune system. Consequently, poor compliance with these medications is considered a serious healthcare problem. Despite its severe complications poor adherence to medication can be found in 20% of kidney recipients. Dr M. Harber, Consultant Nephrologist, Royal Free Hospital, London How are we solving these problems: Our interventions are designed to help mitigate procedural and hospital anxiety, optimise the patient experience and disseminate knowledge and understanding of the complex steps involved in the patient’s treatment, recovery and ongoing care. By helping do these things, hospitals help themselves by speeding up procedures and saving money. We work in close collaboration with specialist teams to understand the patient journey so that we can translate this information into witty and engaging communication design. What we do: • Interactive books. • Books for older children. • Books for adults. • Books for patients with Learning difficulties, autism and additional needs. • App Designs • Graphic Designs for use throughout hospitals. • Animated Training Materials • Animations to explain health conditions to children • 'This phenomenal book is a wonderful resource for children. It allows them to access images and discuss areas of concern with family, friends and staff to smooth the pathway for children on this long journey' . Dr Stephen Marks Consultant Nephrologist Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

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