Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
538
From Our Hands: Drawn Images That Describe Context
Bonnie Gance-Cleveland, PhD, College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the use of children’s’ drawings in the interview process with children.
Rationale: Addison’s disease is a rare, life threatening, chronic illness caused by adrenocortical insufficiency that requires ongoing management by the family. Understanding the process of children adapting to this rare chronic illness will help practitioners enhance the child’s coping with this stressful diagnosis. Traditional methods of obtaining information such as questionnaires, surveys, and even interviews may often end up adult-focused, adult biased and limit useful information from children themselves. The need to hear from children themselves shifts the research emphasis from seeking information about children to seeking information from them. The inclusion of childrens’ drawings as a part of the interview process was used to enhance the information from children on their process of adapting to the diagnosis of Addisions Disease.
Method: A qualitative descriptive case study methodology was used to explore the process of a school-age child’s adaptation to this chronic illness. Eight interviews were conducted; drawing was included as a part of the interview process to encourage further discussion regarding the meaning of the illness and her process of adjustment.
Results: A secondary analysis of the child’s drawings revealed additional information that would not be obtained without the drawings included: the enormity of medication management, the grief in adjusting to chronic illness, and the strategies that facilitates their coping.
Implications: Offering children the opportunity to draw as a part of the interview process greatly enhanced the amount and type of data that was provided. Recognizing the additional themes in drawings and in the child’s description of the drawings can be important influences on care for the adjustment to the diagnosis of Addison’s disease in a child and will help to direct educational and support efforts by nurses.