Hospitalized children's experience of a Fairy Garden in Northern Thailand

Abstract

Abstract Aim To explore through draw, observation and talk hospitalized children's experience of a Fairy Garden in Northern Thailand. Design A participatory visual arts method of draw, observations and talk along with Clandinin's narrative inquiry framework of three‐dimensional space (sociality, temporality and place). Methods This study was conducted in a paediatric ward in a large tertiary hospital in Northern Thailand over 12 months (July 2017–2018). A purposive sample of 17 hospitalized children aged between 4 and 13 years participated in drawings and face‐to‐face interviews. The study adhered to the COREQ checklist for qualitative research (see Supplementary File S1). Results The analysis resulted in five interrelated threads: (1) representations of the illness experience; (2) imagination and fantasy; (3) connection to place, family and home; (4) moments of social representations of play; and (5) happiness and enjoyment.

Keywords

• Hospitalized children
• narrative inquiry
• therapeutic landscapes