Hospitalized children drawing their pain: the contents and cognitive and emotional characteristics of pain drawings

Abstract

Describing pain is difficult. Children like to draw, and through their drawing they reveal worrying issues. This study aimed to examine how hospitalized children express pain through drawings, and was carried out by examining children's thematic drawings of pain. A comparison was made between hospitalized children and healthy control groups with respect to the thematic contents and cognitive and emotional characteristics of pain drawings. The drawings were sorted in categories on the basis of content, and cognitive competence and emotional disturbances by the Draw-a-Person procedure. The hospitalized children showed a lower level of cognitive capacity than their healthy controls. The control group children revealed a higher level of emotional disturbance than the hospitalized children. The groups differed in the contents of their drawings. The drawings of the hospitalized children frequently depicted medical procedures, whereas the drawings of the healthy controls depicted more consoling human and family relations.

Mapping the waters: A scoping review of the use of visual arts in pediatric populations with health conditions

“…The disciplinary background of the first authors varied and included art therapists (n ¼ 2) (Lyshak-Stelzer, Singer, St. John, & Chemtob, 2007;Martin, 2008); nurses (n ¼ 3) (Brewer, Gleditsch, Syblik, Tietjens, & Vacik, 2006;Madden, Mowry, Gao, McGuire Cullen, & Foreman, 2010;Rollins, 2005); psychotherapists (n ¼ 2) (Epp, 2008;Wallace et al, 2004); psychologists (n ¼ 2) (Favara-Scacco, Smirne, Schilirò, & Di Cataldo, 2001;Stefanatou, 2008); counsellors (n ¼ 1) (Beebe, Gelfand, & Bender, 2010); music therapists (n ¼ 1) (Colwell, Davis, & Schroeder, 2005); learning and research services from the department of pediatrics (n ¼ 1) (Kortesluoma, Punamäki, & Nikkonen, 2008); interior designers (n ¼ 1) (Eisen, Ulrich, Shepley, Varni, & Sherman, 2008); social workers (n ¼ 1) (Hamama & Ronen, 2009), anthroposophic medical doctors (n ¼ 1) (Hamre et al, 2009); and population health providers (n ¼ 1) (Mueller, Alie, Jonas, Brown, & Sherr, 2011). Overlap between disciplinary backgrounds of first authors was noted, predominantly within disciplines of art therapy and psychology (e.g.…”

“…Eleven of the 16 studies took place in hospital environments (Brewer et al, 2006;Colwell et al, 2005;Eisen et al, 2008;Favara-Scacco et al, 2001;Hamre et al, 2009;Kortesluoma et al, 2008;Lyshak-Stelzer et al, 2007;Madden et al, 2010;Rollins, 2005;Stefanatou, 2008;Wallace et al, 2004). Of these, the majority (n ¼ 8) occurred in inpatient settings (Brewer et al, 2006;Colwell et al, 2005;Eisen et al, 2008;FavaraScacco et al, 2001;Kortesluoma et al, 2008;Lyshak-Stelzer et al, 2007;Rollins, 2005;Stefanatou, 2008).…”

Building Trust: Children Experiences with Food Allergies at Summer Camp

“…For example, research on asthma among inner-city school-aged children and their families used drawings, along with explanatory models, to explore beliefs about asthma [48]. Illustrations, along with interviews, were also used to explore experiences of childhood chronic illness [46], stressors of children with cancer [49], hospitalization of children with pervasive developmental disorder [50], and pain [51]. Sartain and colleagues used illustrations to explore childhood chronic illness and found that children were competent interpreters of their world [46].…”

Living with pain: the experience of children and adolescents in palliative care

“…Although there are publications concerning the quality of life of children in pain under palliative care and their families, there is a scarcity of studies that analyze the experience from the perspective of children and adolescents under palliative care regarding the management of pain in their daily lives (13)(14)(15)(16)(17) .…”

“…Considering the increase in the frequency of chronic diseases in all age groups, it is necessary for nurses and other health professionals to understand through their own accounts the experiences of children and adolescents who are suffering from pain and are receiving palliative care, making it possible to act adequately in the evaluation, management and relief of pain (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17) .…”