Tamariki Toa was designed in collaboration with Yana Kulishenko. Tamariki Toa is an immersive hospital journey for children who experience chronic pain. It is in a fairytale format that is familiar to kids, so they have some more control over their experience. It has elements that distract, encourage play, and get kids moving - all things that decrease chronic pain. Tamariki Toa creates a defining endpoint that symbolises the end of each trip to the hospital for a sense of closure.
We found that the current format of having multiple hospital visits isn’t kid friendly or chronic pain friendly. Kids aren’t given much agency or control over their appointment. Negative feelings, worrying and stress aggravates chronic pain as well as decreased activity such as sitting down in a waiting room or a long car journey. There is no sense of closure or completion when you leave an appointment.
Kids are sent a storybook before their arrival to the hospital. A fairytale narrative is a structure they love and recognise. It soft launches the hospital before they get there and makes the hospital less intimidating. Characters from the book are projected on the building, inviting kids inside with a friendly face. Kids can create a character and pick their costume on an interactive animated projection. They can see themselves projected alongside characters from the storybook. Play produces comfort and reassurance at a time of unfamiliar and potentially frightening experiences. It is something that is vital to a child’s life and shouldn’t be cast aside just because they are in a hospital setting. Trading cards give kids a sense of completion when they end their appointment, as well as being able to connect with others who are going through something similar to them.