Relationships are the building blocks of positive growth and development for children and their caregivers. The foundational relationships that babies and toddlers experience with all their caregivers in the first years of life (or a child’s “early relational health”) provide the stability and supports necessary for the health, development, and flourishing of children, families, and communities.
However, the prevailing architecture and design of the primary care clinic does not make it easy for the provider to observe or provide anticipatory guidance on early relational health. As we think about the ongoing transformation in healthcare, moving from an emphasis on the pathophysiology of disease to a broader approach that includes the social determinants of health, parent-child interaction, early literacy, and early relational health, it only makes sense to consider a redesign of the physical space.
This paper is an initial attempt to do just that. This discussion draft, co-written by Matt Finn and Majd Ghraib of Cognitive Design, explores the connections between clinical environments and innovative design strategies that center health, connection, and interaction to promote foundational relationships. We hope that this is a generative starting point for discussions by providers, health care system leaders, designers, architects, and others who have opportunities to contribute to designing clinical spaces that support the well-being and flourishing of our young children and their families. Comments on this draft may be submitted to Joe Waters (joe@capita.org) or to Matt Finn (matt@cognitive.design).