Drawing and Dialogue: Youth’s Experiences With the “Face” of Diabetes

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to evaluate drawing, narration, color use, and meaning through discussion to increase insight surrounding youth’s lived experience with type 1 diabetes. Methods: This qualitative study reflects a convenience sample of 20 (female = 12, male = 8) youth aged 8 to 15 years with an established diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. During a nonclinic session, 3 drawings—self-portrait, face of diabetes, and future self-portrait—were created. Interviews were completed with an art therapist or clinic nurse practitioner using a standardized script. Results: All “face” of diabetes drawings depicted images separate from self. The most frequent color noted was gray, due to pencil use. No significant difference in disclosures or dialogue were observed between interviews conducted by the art therapist or nurse practitioner. Emerging themes noted: diabetes is unpredictable and stigmatizing, causes fears, and impacts daily life, yet discussions evidenced overall coping and resilience. Conclusions: Drawing during clinic visits enhances communication and understanding of youth’s lived experience. Findings offer clinical benefit when managing care and support for chronic health conditions.

Quality of life in children with glaucoma: a qualitative interview study in Australia

“…This is in agreement with a recent study exploring the lived experience of adults with childhood glaucoma, which similarly identified that resilience, adaptation and establishing a positive relationship with the ophthalmologist are important coping strategies in childhood glaucoma 21. Becoming resilient was further identified as a coping strategy in children with cystic fibrosis,25 spina bifida26 and type 1 diabetes 27. This often assisted in self-management of their condition, as observed in this study whereby children, particularly those aged 8–12 years, expressed a desire to self-manage their antiglaucoma medication.…”

“…21 Becoming resilient was further identified as a coping strategy in children with cystic fibrosis, 25 spina bifida 26 and type 1 diabetes. 27 This often assisted in self-management of their condition, as observed in this study whereby children, particularly those aged 8-12 years, expressed a desire to self-manage their antiglaucoma medication. Conversely, older youths with spina bifida, 26 and children with type 1 diabetes, 28 were more likely to disengage in their care over time, possibly due to having increased medical responsibilities and feeling overwhelmed.…”

“… 29 Adolescents with type 1 diabetes additionally reported issues balancing demands between medical management and non-disease related pressures of being an adolescent. 30 Disease stigmatisation, social isolation, self-image and school absenteeism concerns were otherwise experienced among children of any age with asthma and epilepsy, 31 type 1 diabetes 27 28 and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. 32 Thus, the issues identified in children with glaucoma align with the greater childhood chronic disease experience and their impact may be exacerbated when a child approaches adulthood.…”

Children's and adolescent's narratives about pain and negative experiences in diabetes treatment

“…It is suitable to ask children and adolescents to produce short written narratives, as this method allows them to describe their experiences in their own words, independently and without interruptions (Forsner et al, 2013(Forsner et al, , 2016. Additionally, drawing enhances children's and adolescents' communication about lived experiences of diabetes (Liesch & Elertson, 2020). The questionnaire was distributed between 2015 and 2016.…”

A qualitative synthesis of drawing‐based research on the illness‐related experiences of children living with physical health problems

“…In sum, drawing-based approaches are neutral and developmentally appropriate means of self-expression and communication for children, which can engage them in research in a relaxed and easy way (Eldén, 2012;Liesch & Elertson, 2020).…”