Examining children’s healthcare experiences through drawings

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study examines children’s anxieties about healthcare experiences using drawings. Fifty children, either experiencing a doctor’s appointment or hospitalization, completed a drawing of a person in the hospital. Using the Child Drawing: Hospital (CD:H), drawings were scored on individual items which were summed for a total score of projected anxiety. Differences between drawings were compared. The drawings of hospitalized children displayed significantly more anxiety than that of the children attending a doctor’s appointment. Significant differences were also found for individual items. Children at the doctor’s office drew people in independent positions, smiling, and comparable in size to the drawn environment. Hospitalized children drew people in dependent positions, not smiling, and small in comparison to the drawn environment, and included more medical equipment. The findings suggest children appear to feel a sense of control and more positivity at the doctor’s office, while feeling small, dependent on others, and anxious during a hospitalization.