Developing smart-helper content to support home-based care for technology-dependent children with chronic complex conditions: An application of the double diamond design process
Dahae Woo, Hyo Jin Kim, Sowon Kim, Jihee Kim, Seung Yeon Kwon, Dong Hee KimBackground
Technology-dependent children with chronic complex conditions often require intensive home-based care, which places substantial physical, emotional, and logistical burdens on family caregivers. Although digital-health technologies such as socially assistive robots show promise, few have been developed using systematic, user-centered methods grounded in the realities of everyday caregiving.
Objective
To identify the needs of families caring for technology-dependent children with chronic complex conditions at home and to develop user-centered content concepts for a “smart-helper” robot.
Methods
Guided by the Double Diamond service-design framework, we conducted interviews with clinicians and caregivers of technology-dependent children with chronic complex conditions, developed personas and journey maps, and convened a multidisciplinary expert workshop to design actionable smart-helper features.
Results
Caregivers emphasized four core value domains for a smart helper: reducing routine workload, providing continuous and reliable monitoring, offering emotional reassurance, and delivering clinically informed guidance. Thirteen content concepts were developed, including automated daily documentation, nighttime vigilance support, context-aware emergency guidance, child state interpretation, personalized sensory engagement, caregiver emotional support, and tools to support family communication and peer connection.
Conclusions
This service-design process generated a comprehensive, user-centered blueprint for a smart-helper robot that may enhance caregiver capacity, child comfort, and continuity of care. Future work should advance technical development and evaluate prototypes in real home environments to ensure usability, safety, and equitable implementation.