When a child is admitted to the hospital with a critical illness, their family must adapt and manage care and stress. HCI and Computer- Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) technologies have shown the potential for collaborative technologies to support and augment care collaboration between patients and caregivers. However, less is known about the potential for collaborative technologies to augment family caregiving circles experiences, stressors, and adaptation practices, especially during long hospitalization stays. We interviewed 14 parents of children with cancer admitted for extended hospitalizations in this work. We use the Family Adaptive Systems framework from the family therapy fields as a lens to characterize the challenges and practices of families with a hospitalized child. We characterize the four adaptive systems from the theory: Emotion system, Control system, Meaning, and Maintenance system. Then, we focus on the Emotion system, suggesting opportunities for designing future collaborative technology to augment collaborative caregiving and enhance family resilience.

During a health crisis, such as the hospitalization of a child with a serious illness, families must adjust and support each other in coordinating care. CSCW researchers have shown the potential for collaborative technologies to enhance social support in different settings. However, less is known about the potential for CSCW technologies to augment social support practices within family caregiving circles. In this poster, we describe findings from 14 interviews with parents of children hospitalized for cancer treatment. We categorized the support practices between parents and found that they rely heavily on technology to support each other from a distance. We identified opportunities for designing future collaborative technology to augment social support in caregiving teams.