4.1 Article

Using participatory drama workshops to explore children's beliefs, understandings and experiences of coming to hospital for clinical procedures

Journal

JOURNAL OF CHILD HEALTH CARE
Volume 27, Issue 2, Pages 289-299

Publisher

SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/1367493519883087

Keywords

Children; decisions; involvement; procedures

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Children attending hospital for a procedure value the opportunity to have an active role and be involved in decision-making about their care. However, current evidence is lacking regarding how children would like to be supported before, during, and after a procedure. This qualitative study used improvised drama workshops to explore children's perceptions and opinions of attending hospital for a procedure. The findings highlight the importance of allowing children to express their emotions, participate in interactions, and be included in decision-making processes.
Children attending hospital for a clinical procedure such as a scan or blood test can experience anxiety and uncertainty. Children who are informed and supported before and during procedures tend to have a more positive experience. Despite this, there is a lack of empirical evidence directly from children around how they would like to be supported before, during and after a procedure. This qualitative study used improvised drama workshops to investigate children's (n = 15, aged 7-14 years) perceptions and opinions of attending hospital for a procedure and what would help them have a positive encounter. Children portrayed themselves as having a small presence during a hospital procedure, depicted by the two themes of 'having to be brave but feeling scared inside' and 'wanting to get involved but being too afraid to ask'. Within both themes, children described how the directive and reassuring language and actions used by health professionals and parents marginalized their contributions. This study shows that children attending hospital for procedures value the opportunity to have a presence and active role, to express their emotions, join in interactions and be involved in making choices about their care.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.1
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available