Sensory Tools for
Reducing needle fear.
Do you remember having a blood test or vaccine as a kid? If you have bad memories you're not alone, in fact 68% of children exhibit considerable fear of needles which can lead to a lifelong needle phobia. Sensory Tools for Needle Fear are a set of 4 ASMR play therapy tools, designed to help parents reassure and calm their children before, during and after blood tests in hospital.
This project was made in collaboration with Kolding Sygehus Pediatric Department and Syddansk Sundhedsinnovation.
The tools were developed through a codesign process with children, parents, pediatric nurses, play therapists and hospital clowns. I began by immersing myself in the experience of being a child in the hospital, through observations and interviews in the hospital. I shadowed bioanalysts, nurses and hospital clowns to learn as much as I could. This inspired me to develop a bespoke research tool called “totems of care” where my participants shared their hospital experiences through tactile objects, which I hope to share in the future. I was really inspired by the emotional experience of being a patient in the hospital and investigated this by joining blood tests.
The sensory tools began to take shape, evolving from the experiences I had shared in the hospital. I explored how the senses support connection, trust and reassurance in play therapy and created a remote co-creation activity called “Let’s Play Doctor - Mini Medical School” where parents and children acted out future blood tests for me. I wanted to make a solution to improve the children’s experience of blood tests but it took some time and experimenting and testing until I found the right shape, materials and location for the tools.
This project was made for my final exam MA Design for People at Kolding Design School in Denmark. It is possible to see the final pieces exhibited at Koldinghus between Sept 18 - Nov 22 2020. The project also led to the development of a new model of how needle phobias are created, which will be shared later in the year. You can see some pictures of the process below.
So how do they work? Well, the Magic Brush is used in a special hypnoanalgesia technique which causes numbness through sensory stimuli on the skin. This helps to protect the child from pain during the test. The Shell creates a magical sound resonance effect which helps to calm the child through sound therapy. The Bubbles help to relax anxious parents through slow breathing exercises at the same time as distracting the child from pain during the test and the Acupressure Ball is used at special pressure points in the arm to relieve pain left after the test.