Growing With the Condition: Co-Designing Pediatric Technologies that Adapt Across Developmental Stages

Abstract

Children with chronic conditions face evolving challenges in daily activities, peer relationships, and clinical care. Younger children often rely on parental support, while older ones seek independence. Prior studies on chronic conditions explored proxy-based, family-centered, and playful approaches to support children's health, but most technologies treat children as a homogeneous group rather than adapting to their developmental differences. To address this gap, we conducted four co-design workshops with 69 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) at a medically supported camp, spanning elementary, middle, and high school groups. Our analysis reveals distinct coping strategies: elementary children relied on comfort objects and reassurance, middle schoolers used mediated communication and selective disclosure, and high schoolers emphasized agency and direct engagement with peers and providers. Through child-centered participatory design, we contribute empirical insights into how children's management of chronic conditions evolves and propose design implications for pediatric health technologies that adapt across developmental trajectories.