Inspiring AWE: Transforming clinic waiting rooms into informal learning environments with active waiting education

This research explores patient education in pediatric hematology and oncology clinics. Based on interviews, observations, and a review of existing patient materials, we argue that education in clinic waiting rooms is in need of reform. We applied design principles from research in science museums along with tangible interaction techniques to create the Sickle Cell Station, an interactive learning experience about sickle cell disease. To evaluate the effectiveness of this design we observed approximately 580 participants in a pediatric hematology clinic waiting area in four different design conditions. These observations included detailed video analysis of 81 patients and their parents to understand their interaction and learning with the Sickle Cell Station. Our results show an engaging learning experience with relevant conversation, inquiry, and collaboration. We describe how patient engagement varied in the four design conditions and conclude with implications for new designs in the area of Active Waiting Education (AWE).