Children’s and young people’s attitudes and feelings about artistic activities during oncological treatment

Abstract

Introduction: Artistic education occupies a relevant area in the context of oncology hospital pedagogical support activities as it can promote children’s and adolescents’ wellbeing to express their emotions while they are undergoing cancer treatment. Objectives: To analyse the attitudes and wellbeing gained from the practice of artistic activities (AA) in the context of child and young people oncological treatment. Methods: The instrument AAACTO (Artistic Activities Applied to Cancer Treatment in Children) was constructed and applied in the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (IPO Porto, Portugal) and in the Support Group for Children with Cancer (GACC, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil). In each country, the sample included 75 subjects divided into three groups: Group A, 25 children, aged 2 to 19 years, in oncology treatment and carrying out AA; Group B, 28 parents; and Group C, 22 elements of the medical and non-medical staff. The present work focuses on the questions related to the responders’ perception about children’s attitudes and feelings about exercising AA during cancer treatment. Results: In both institutions, the responders had a positive view about AA, though with slight differences. The three responder groups of both countries emphasized the influence of AA on improving children’s and young people’s sense of wellbeing during treatments. They further highlighted that AA stimulated their cognitive development, increased self-esteem and contentment. Conclusions: Artistic activities were shown to be important not only for children’s and young people’s wellbeing but also for their cognitive development, indicating the high relevance of AA and the need to expand the skills in this area to enhance the quality of services provided in paediatric oncology.