Team member Helen Sung, accompanied by Cole Gillan, interviewed Laura, mother of a patient, about her experiences regarding transportation to and from the hospital.
Date: 3/3/17
Type: Individual Interview
Location: Specialty Pediatrics at SJHS Mishawaka Medical Center; waiting room
Team Members: Helen Sung accompanied by Cole Gillan
User Characteristics: “Mother of Patient”
- Female, late 20s
- Mother of three children, guardian for foster daughter
- Wife
- Photographer
- Driven to be a good mother and guardian to her children
- Optimistic and persistent in two of her autistic children
Quotes:
- “We’re off to doctor’s appointments because there’s usually an appointment everyday.”
- “Just gas maybe $300-400. With insurance around $550-600 a month.”
- “My kids are autistic so they have Medicaid and are eligible to do that. So kids with Medicaid, you can either drive yourself and ask for reimbursement through the insurance to cover gas, or you can say you need a ride to get you somewhere.”
- “I come to all the doctor’s appointments with these three kids four times a week.”
- “All my kids go to different schools. My foster daughter and other son ride the bus. My youngest son, Nick, always has to ride the car. Sometimes I’m back and forth a lot. Every other day is different.”
Key Insights:
- Patients not only have to go to one hospital location, but often need additional healthcare services in other areas that would not be possible without transportation means.
- Disabled children are eligible for Medicaid transportation services.
- Owning a personal vehicle is costly.
- Families, especially those with disabled or sick children with frequent appointments, really need full mobility and financial stability in order to healthily raise their children.
- Children and parents each have different schedules that often result in time and ride conflicts.
Activities
- Picked up son, Nick, from school
- Took Nick and other two kids to hospital
- Sat in waiting room with baby in her lap
- Talking with foster daughter
Environment
- Waiting room of Specialty Pediatrics at Mishawaka Medical Center
- Around 4:00pm on a Friday afternoon
- Many chairs along the walls and children’s toys sprawled in the room
- User sat close towards the receptionist window
- Kid-friendly atmosphere
Interactions
- One other mother and son sat diagonally across User
- Other mother politely declined to partake in interview because she and her son were tight on time
- User was carrying her baby on her lap
Objects
- Baby seat with thick, soft blankets
- Large tote with baby supplies and personal belongings
- Child’s toy that the baby played with during interview
Users
- Other visiting patients
- Receptionists
- Other patients’ guardian