This study was conducted at a healthcare facility in the greater New York area which operates a 395-bed acute care, outpatient clinic, and psychiatric clinic. The medical center is a public hospital and serves all communities in its district, including people with low socio-economic status, regardless of patients’ ability to pay; many patients in the facility live below the federal poverty level. The patients are predominantly African-American, Dominican, Puerto Rican, and Polish. Primary languages spoken are English 50%, Spanish 40%, and Polish 4%, with Arabic and French following. For those who speak little or no English, immediate professional interpretation services via phone are provided.
The units where the art therapy service was practiced …show more content…
The range of medical diagnosis of the participants is broad. Medical staff or social workers referred them to art therapy in order to aid the patients’ adaptation to hospitalization and process of recovery, or the researcher randomly selected participants while rounding the units. Once a patient was referred to art therapy, the service remained available until the patient was discharged. The patients who were not able to articulate thoughts and to understand consent process were excluded from this study due to the consent requirement. Since the art materials were shared, the patients with infectious diseases also were excluded due to the hospital’s safety …show more content…
The first test sheet was designed to measure a patient’s overall feeling regarding hospitalization by asking the degree of patients’ physical pain, experience in the hospital, and mood. However, many patients displayed confusion about the items and rating scale, which consisted of five faces without eyes. Therefore, the test sheet was redesigned in a simpler form with clear faces and a question that “How are you feeling physically and emotionally?” in order to clarify and promote easier understanding and fast completion. Considering the diverse background of patients, the scale was presented in five schematic faces, ranging from negative (1) to positive (5), for a friendly approach and to reduce confusion. In order to encompass a vast range of emotions and feelings, written guide ranged “negative” to “positive,” rather than mentioning specific emotions, and the test sheet included a blank that patients could specify their feelings.
Art materials included colored, white, and black paper (sized 9x12” and 12x18”), drawing materials (markers, woodless colored pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, jumbo crayons, and colored pencils), painting materials (watercolor, tempera cakes, and brushes), collage materials (printed images and words, scissors, and glue), and tactile materials (Model Magic, pompoms, and wood blocks). In addition, materials for specific art projects such as a coloring sheet, mask, and box were prepared
The units where the art therapy service was practiced …show more content…
The range of medical diagnosis of the participants is broad. Medical staff or social workers referred them to art therapy in order to aid the patients’ adaptation to hospitalization and process of recovery, or the researcher randomly selected participants while rounding the units. Once a patient was referred to art therapy, the service remained available until the patient was discharged. The patients who were not able to articulate thoughts and to understand consent process were excluded from this study due to the consent requirement. Since the art materials were shared, the patients with infectious diseases also were excluded due to the hospital’s safety …show more content…
The first test sheet was designed to measure a patient’s overall feeling regarding hospitalization by asking the degree of patients’ physical pain, experience in the hospital, and mood. However, many patients displayed confusion about the items and rating scale, which consisted of five faces without eyes. Therefore, the test sheet was redesigned in a simpler form with clear faces and a question that “How are you feeling physically and emotionally?” in order to clarify and promote easier understanding and fast completion. Considering the diverse background of patients, the scale was presented in five schematic faces, ranging from negative (1) to positive (5), for a friendly approach and to reduce confusion. In order to encompass a vast range of emotions and feelings, written guide ranged “negative” to “positive,” rather than mentioning specific emotions, and the test sheet included a blank that patients could specify their feelings.
Art materials included colored, white, and black paper (sized 9x12” and 12x18”), drawing materials (markers, woodless colored pencils, oil pastels, soft pastels, jumbo crayons, and colored pencils), painting materials (watercolor, tempera cakes, and brushes), collage materials (printed images and words, scissors, and glue), and tactile materials (Model Magic, pompoms, and wood blocks). In addition, materials for specific art projects such as a coloring sheet, mask, and box were prepared