Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing Commons^™

Children’S Experiences Of Hospitalization Over Time: An Evaluation Of Using Poetry And Creative Writing By Children To Assess Their Experiences Of Hospitalization, David Wood

Patient Experience Journal

This article explores children’s experiences of hospital admissions through their poetry and creative writing and assesses the validity of this medium compared to other methods of evaluation. Pediatric patient experiences of hospital and their effects on children have been studied in various ways and there have been stepwise changes throughout the past century, matching the overall changes of medical care from paternalistic to patient centered. 17 poems were analyzed from children aged 6-13 years old (median 10) for recurrent themes whilst admitted to a large tertiary hospital in the north of England. Children frequently wrote about attacks on their senses, …