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

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.