Art Unfolds Words: Expressing Hope Through Creative Art Among Adolescents and Young Adults Who Have Advanced Cancer

Abstract

Hope's role in the care of adolescents and young adults (AYAs) who have advanced cancer (AC) is not well understood. This study aimed to conceptualize the essence of hope among AYAs who have AC based on their lived experiences and illustrate hope through verbal and artistic depictions of the AYA's lived experiences. Fifteen AYAs, aged 12 to 21 years, diagnosed with AC completed two semistructured interviews to share their lived experiences of hope perspectives in the form of a descriptive narrative and a creative-art outcome. Participants who chose to draw pictures narrated the conceptual meanings based on elements of each picture. A board-certified art therapist performed a post hoc analysis of the drawings and participants’ verbatim descriptions of their meanings. Five of the 15 AYA participants created drawings depicting their lived experiences of hope. The artistic process of mapping their cancer journey revealed distinct views of hope through nature landscapes and metaphors. Participants provided titles for their drawings such as “Over the Rainbow,” “Growth in the Valley,” and “The Light at the End of the Tunnel.” The pictures embodied the AYAs’ thoughts, perceptions, and lived experiences related to hope and its role during their cancer journey. Drawing is one simple art form that can facilitate an AYA's expression of well-being (including hope) beyond what may be verbally articulated. Creative art should be further researched as a screening tool to assess how AYAs with AC cope with an uncertain future and psychological and/or existential distress symptoms.

Realities and ideals: Experiences and needs of pediatric oncology nurses in communication processes with children and their families at the end‐of‐life period: A photovoice qualitative study

“…A qualitative research design utilizing the photovoice method was employed in this study to examine the experiences and needs of pediatric oncology nurses in their communication processes with children and families in the end-of-life period. The purpose of photovoice methodology in our study was to go beyond traditional qualitative methods, allowing pediatric oncology nurses to convey their experiences in a more nuanced and holistic manner (Bennett et al, 2023;Johnston & Dowling, 2023). Also, the study adhered to the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist for reporting purposes (COREQ, 2023).…”

“…Photovoice is particularly valuable in qualitative research endeavors that seek to understand the subjective experiences of individuals, fostering a more inclusive and participatory approach to data collection and analysis (Ebrahimpour et al, 2021). It is also stated that this method is particularly supportive in researching sensitive topics, as it adds an extra layer of richness and depth to the participants' verbal responses (Bennett et al, 2023).…”

“…In a systematic review by Sisk, Harvey, et al (2022), Sisk, Keenan, et al (2022 it is suggested that for the improvement in communication between healthcare professionals and children and their families in pediatric oncology, there needs to be a greater identification of barriers and facilitators to communication and the development of interventions to ease the communication. Furthermore, upon reviewing the literature in the field of pediatric oncology, qualitative studies have utilized the method of photovoice to visually convey meanings, ideas, and experiences that are not easily communicated through words (Arora et al, 2021;Bennett et al, 2023;Donovan et al, 2022;Ebrahimpour et al, 2021;Kim et al, 2021). This method is noted to be particularly supportive in exploring sensitive topics, as it adds an extra layer of richness and depth to verbal responses from participants.…”