Painting Therapy in Cancer Care: A Descriptive Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Despite art therapy has been widely used in cancer population to improve their physical and mental health, painting therapy, as one form of art therapy, is seldom applied to adult cancer patients independently. Therefore, how painting therapy affects adult cancer patients' health outcomes needed to be explored sufficiently. Objectives: The purpose of this review was to assess and synthesize the latest evidence of painting therapy concerning adult cancer patients, and to provide some inspiration for clinical staff. Methods: A literature research of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsychoInfo, Psydex, CENTRAL, Google Scholar, British Library, CNKI, Wanfang, CQVIP electronic databases were undertaken with the following key words: art therapy, painting, drawing, cancer, neoplasm, tumor, carcinoma and oncology. A narrative synthesis was used according to PRISMA and the quality of study was assessed using acritical assessment tool. Results: Eleven papers reporting nine different research projects met the inclusion criteria. Generally speaking, painting therapy positively affected health outcomes. The impacts on patients include improvements in quality of life, coping with disease, mental health and somatic symptoms. However, inconsistency still exists. Three studies failed to show positive effects of painting therapy on post-traumatic growth, distress and coping behavior in participants. Conclusion: Robust evidence was found in rehabilitation of patients with various types of cancer. Painting therapy evidently affected cancer patients in a positive direction. However, the application of painting therapy to cancer patients needs to be explored further due to few studies on this topic.

Effects of Drawing Therapy on Pediatric Oncology Patients

“…First, the application of drawing therapy has great potential in the cancer population. Previous evidence indicated the effect of drawing therapy on adults with cancer, 16,17 but related studies on the pediatric cancer population are few. Therefore, future research can increase the exploration on pediatric population.…”

“…Berberian et al 14 and Hunter 15 found that group drawing therapy can relieve loneliness and anxiety, increase hope and satisfaction, and improve self-awareness and social skills of traumatic soldiers. Zhen-Ting et al 16 and Kim et al 17 also confirmed that drawing therapy can reduce the level of anxiety and depression; relieve physical symptoms, such as pain and fatigue; and improve the quality of life of adult cancer patients. In addition, drawing therapy is applicable to the healthy development of the general population.…”

“…Therefore, exploring the specific efficacy of drawing therapy in pediatric oncology is important. Previous systematic reviews have integrated and analyzed the effect of drawing therapy on adult cancer patients, 16,17 but empirical studies that test the efficacy of drawing therapy on childhood cancer patients have not been synthesized. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review to integrate and evaluate the relevant evidence of drawing therapy in childhood cancer patients and to provide reference for clinical application.…”

The physical and psychological outcomes of art therapy in pediatric palliative care: A systematic review

“…[ 44 ] The results of the present review support the positive role of art therapy in improving psychological variables and improving the quality of life of children, which is consistent with the Facchini and Ruini review study that showed that music therapy can improve the feeling of well-being and psychological consequences in this group of patients. [ 45 ] The results of the research showed that most of the studies have been done on adults with cancer, which also support the positive role of art therapy in adults with cancer and believe that art therapy can have psychological consequences[ 46 47 ] and fatigue[ 46 48 ] and improve the quality of life of these people. [ 46 48 ] Since it is difficult for children to express feelings and emotions,[ 49 ] art, as one of the oldest means of communication,[ 50 ] helps to express feelings and conflicts,[ 51 ] so it has been effective in reducing psychological problems in adults and children.…”

“…[ 45 ] The results of the research showed that most of the studies have been done on adults with cancer, which also support the positive role of art therapy in adults with cancer and believe that art therapy can have psychological consequences[ 46 47 ] and fatigue[ 46 48 ] and improve the quality of life of these people. [ 46 48 ] Since it is difficult for children to express feelings and emotions,[ 49 ] art, as one of the oldest means of communication,[ 50 ] helps to express feelings and conflicts,[ 51 ] so it has been effective in reducing psychological problems in adults and children.…”