Investigation of overprotection in pediatric cardiology

Humanity grows from making mistakes. However, there is a group of people, and their cost of mistakes might be higher than the average. They are therefore protected by others, and their opportunity to explore the world is deprived. This protective behavior could be unnecessary or excessive, which is defined as overprotection. To detect the overprotection issue in the field of pediatric cardiology, the researcher, together with Erasmus MC- Sophia Children's Hospital, set up a collaborative program. The ultimate goal of the program was to design a smart product-service system which can prevent overprotective behavior in children with congenital heart disease. The present thesis is the initial step of the collaborative program— investigation of overprotection in pediatric cardiology. It addresses the concept of overprotection (OP) and vulnerable child syndrome (VCS), studies on the health-related life of children with congenital heart disease (CCHD), and their parents (PCCHD), then proposes a reformulated design goal and three tangible design missions as the final result. In the literature review, theoretical knowledge of overprotection and vulnerable child syndrome is elaborated. Three factors are especially highlighted, respectively risk factor, challenge, and indicator. The risk factor indicates the event that may trigger overprotection development; challenge means the parental barrier of performing proper protection; indicator expresses the theoretical assessment of overprotection. These factors are further brought to the empirical study to see how they influence life of CCHD and PCCHD. Empirical insights are captured during the empirical study. A total number of eight interviews were conducted, and the researcher also attended a sharing event in which five CCHD gave speeches on their grown-up experience. Collecting the medical history, interaction with people around, and narratives or opinions about overprotection was the main purpose of the empirical study. Factor
Strategic Product Design