The use of puppets as a strategy for communicating with children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The use of puppets is an effective strategy for promoting children to express thoughts and feelings about daily experiences. However, very little information is available about its use in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus. The procedures for using puppets during qualitative interviews in children with Type 1 diabetes mellitus were described, which involved three steps: 1) constructing the scenario − a "stage" that simulates the environments they encounter (school, home); 2) making puppets that represent the child and people (parents, teachers, siblings, friends) encountered daily, and 3) promoting expression of thoughts and feelings using puppets during qualitative interviews. The advantages of using puppets were to allow children with type 1 diabetes mellitus to freely express thoughts and feelings about living with diabetes, to provide them with opportunities to demonstrate diabetes management behaviors, and expose factors that may interfere with diabetes management. A limitation to the use of puppets was the interviewer requiring skills to dynamically engage the child and encourage their active participation during the interaction. The use of puppets was recommended as a creative strategy for use in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus during qualitative interviews.

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“…Additionally, puppets were used to stimulate responses to the researchers' questions and did not require the participant to speak directly to the interviewer or maintain eye contact, which may be difficult for some children (Aldiss et al, 2008;Epstein, Stevens, McKeever, Baruchel, & Jones, 2008;Gibson, Aldiss, Horstman, Kumpunen, & Richardson, 2010). Therefore, the use of puppets promotes a trusting relationship in which children engage in interactions and expand their verbal expression, feeling more comfortable to talk about their thoughts and feelings (Sparapani et al, 2014;Sposito, Sparapani, Pfeifer, Lima, & Nascimento, 2013).…”

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“…Sparapani et al . () also used settings modified by the children during interviews, and report that this practice was beneficial in that the children were more freely able to share important aspects of their daily lives and how they manage their illness. It is believed that the ideal place for communication with children using puppets should take into account the purpose of the communication.…”

“…Thus, in addition to the use of puppets, the use of the apron as a dynamic scenario also stimulated the children's free expression and favored their decision as to what characters to include or exclude during the interaction. Sparapani et al (2014) also used settings modified by the children during interviews, and report that this practice was beneficial in that the children were more freely able to share important aspects of their daily lives and how they manage their illness. It is believed that the ideal place for communication with children using puppets should take into account the purpose of the communication.…”

“…Currently, children are actively participating in research that ensures greater engagement and autonomy in studies (Danby et al, 2011;Sparapani et al, 2014). Although children are able to communicate their opinions, they may experience some difficulty in answering direct verbal questions, requiring researchers to enter a world that is familiar to the children; stories, dolls, puppets, and pictures can be used in order to achieve this purpose (Aldiss et al, 2009).…”

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“…Children often communicate more easily with puppets, giving them confidence to express their ideas and feelings (Sparapani. et al, 2014;Paccuulio.…”