1. Identifying symptoms using the drawings of 4-7 year olds with cancer
- Author
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Shannon Hyslop, Brenda J. Spiegler, L. Lee Dupuis, Lillian Sung, E. Stein, Deborah Tomlinson, and E. Vettese
- Subjects
Male ,Interview ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Emotions ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Neoplasms ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Self report ,Child ,media_common ,Oncology (nursing) ,business.industry ,Communication ,Symptom burden ,Age Factors ,Cancer ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Feeling ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Child, Preschool ,Female ,Symptom Assessment ,business ,Art ,Clinical psychology - Abstract
Purpose Symptom burden in children with cancer who are less than 8 years old is not well understood. Our research focuses on identifying how to structure a self-report instrument for younger children. Our aim was to describe how children with cancer, aged 4–7 years, express their symptoms through drawings. Methods Children were asked to make drawings of a day when they were “feeling bad or not good”. Content of 18 children's drawings was analyzed. Results Four themes were established: physical symptoms, emotions, location and miscellaneous. Most of the drawings illustrated specific symptoms important to this age group, while also facilitating our understanding of how children with cancer view their symptoms. Conclusion Having children draw pictures may help initiate communication regarding how they feel, and develop rapport between the interviewer and children.
- Published
- 2017