One last wish

Abstract

Effective and appropriate care for people in their last stage of life has become a priority in nowadays health care delivery. Everyone has a different perspective on what a ‘’good death’’ would be, but many patients consider a sense of completion important for a good death, attaching value to maintaining their dignity, and to the affirmation of their whole person. Enabling people to make one last wish come true during their final stage in life therefore heavily contributes to their quality of dying. This thesis focussed on optimizing the wish ride experience facilitated by WensAmbulance Brabant, whose aim is to grant the last wish of terminally ill patients (and their loved ones) to visit a special place.

In order to establish an understanding of the complex context of the different stakeholders, literature- and field researches were executed simultaneously. These respectively provided insights regarding aspects to take into account when designing for End of Life, and problems currently occurring during the wish event. This allowed the creation of a comprehensive example of a wish ride and the establishment of a Patient Journey Map. The journey map revealed multiple aspects that could be improved regarding the wish journey. The aim of the design project then became to provide terminally ill patients with a more comfortable and re-assuring experience, without compromising patient- and volunteer safety, in order to increase the likelihood of them meeting their set wish goals.

The concept which was created, the Patient Wrap, decreases the patient’s anxiety prior to engaging in the wish ride and when the first goodbyes are being said, is envisioned to improve the patient’s ability to rest or even sleep during the wish ride, and provides an accessible solution for WensAmbulance Brabant to ensure patient- and volunteer safety.

To whom it may concern, I hope this thesis will have the ability to inspire you.