Sensory Prompt Kit - Sensing Spaces

Sensory Prompt Kits for Sensing Spaces of Healthcare: Rethinking the NHS Hospital
University of Bristol research project by Dr Victoria Bates supported by Senior Research Associate Dr Rebecka Fleetwood-Smith, funded by URKI

Dr Victoria Bates invited me to create a series of bespoke prompt kits to aid deeper reflection for ex-hospital staff and patients during interviews around their sensory hospital memories. 

I wanted a format which would contain the kits that spoke to the hospital environment and immediately aided that deeper reflective process, so used a hospital food tray to hold the kit's different sections. As the project focuses on senses, I used the different sections to focus on sight, sound, smell, taste and touch as swatch books supported by an activity book for participants to work through. 

Each sense image, texture, taste or smell came directly from previous participant interviews held by Victoria, so each tray was a bespoke set according to that person's lived experience. It was a joy to gather each set and source photos referencing specific memories of each person. 

The kits contained: 
Sight - A swatch book of images
Smell - Scent bottles to smell
Taste - A swatch book of visual taste memories and a tea bag and a pot of jam to make toast at home
Touch - A swatch book of real fabric textures
Sound - A swatch book of visual sound memories and a 3 minute hospital soundscape via a QR code

These kits have now been posted out to participants to complete at home and the activity book of answers will inform Victoria's research. 

You can find out more about the project Sensing Spaces of Healthcare here.