Week 5

Interview 1: My friend who regularly took me to my appointments at UPMC (caretaker perspective)

Q1. Can you walk me through what you remember to be the process of a typical trip to UPMC?

A. Go in, get a visitors pass, go through security, go see patient, then we would hang out.

Q2. (For the task or area that they focused on most in their answer to Q1) How did you feel doing that particular task or spending time in that area?

A. Security was the most tedious part, felt bored having to do it every time.

Q3. Since you spent most of your time in the waiting areas, how would you describe the atmosphere there?

A. Atmosphere was dull, kind of boring

Q4. Did you notice other patients and their families / caretakers? How do you think they were feeling?

A. I did not notice them, it was hard to pay attention to others at the time.

Q5. Can you tell me about an interaction you had with one of the healthcare providers at UPMC?

A. I remember the nurses were chill, very sympathetic of patient’s situation. I don’t remember interactions with the doctors. Interactions with staff at reception was very curt and brief.

Q6. Do you remember how you interacted with others at the hospital? What were the goals of those interactions? How did you feel during those interactions?

A. Honestly, I don’t think there were many interactions that weren’t absolutely necessary.

Q7. Do you remember how I was feeling as the patient? How did we interact after entering the building?

A. You were very sad, frustrated, and stressed. When we got there those feelings were still implicitly understood but we definitely talked less since the hospital is quiet space.

Interview 2: (Structured as more of a casual conversation) My next door neighbour who’s daughter has down syndrome

Conversation touch points:

[Daughter] actually doesn’t mind going to the doctor.

Sometimes feel like they are being disruptive because she is more likely to have outbursts / throw tantrums than other kids her age.

She relies a lot on her older sister. Her sister is very patient with her even though they’re both kids.

[Daughter] is a bit of a drama queen. She has a very strong personality.

Sometimes worry because she doesn’t have too many friends. Her sister tries to include her but because she is older she has her own thing going on with the kids on our block. They don’t always want to play with [daughter] and [daughter] doesn’t seem interested in following them around either. So she ends up playing on her own a lot.