P0614 - Words on the Wards: Exploring the Effects of a Poetry Program Among Inpatient Pediatric Patients

BACKGROUND/

Purpose:
The hospital can be an unfamiliar environment for children. Illness can pull them out of school, keep them away from family and friends, and disrupt their sense of normalcy. Pediatric patients may experience anxiety, stress, and a sense of helplessness. It is important to address a patient’s emotional wellbeing. Arts therapy has been documented, but the role of poetry is a new realm of investigation. This study sought to explore the possible therapeutic effects of poetry on hospitalized pediatric patients’ physical and emotional health.

Methods:
Consent was obtained from inpatient pediatric patients and their parents/guardians admitted on the inpatient floors of Hasbro Children's Hospital. Participants completed a pre-activity questionnaire assessing symptom burden, the validated “PedsQL Present Functioning Visual Analogue Scales” on fear, sadness, anger, worry, fatigue, and pain in the present moment (PedsQL VAS, 0-100 mm scale).

Participants then completed the poetry activity: a brief poem-writing activity on acrostic poems, haikus, or free-form; and/or reading pre-selected poems. Post-activity, parent/child dyads completed the same PedsQL VAS questionnaire and open-ended qualitative survey on their experience.

Results:
Data from 44 participants were analyzed (Figure 1). Dependent t-tests comparing pre/post responses showed the brief poetry intervention resulted in statistically significant reduction in 5 of the 6 PedsQL VAS symptom measures: fear (t(43)=2.39, p=.021), sadness (t(43)=3.01, p=.004), anger (t(43)=2.13, p=.039), worry (t(43)= 2.13, p=.041), fatigue (t(43)= 5.40, p<.001); reduction in pain was not statistically significant (t(43)= 1.72, p=.092).

Sampling of participant feedback from qualitative survey: “I feel happy”; “it was very fun”; “felt good, felt like I accomplished something”; “I like writing poetry now”; “reminds me of who I am outside the hospital”; “fun, happy, cool”; “I will hang this poem up on the wall!”; “helps distract my mind from my sickness”; “lets me be creative”.

Sampling of parent feedback: “Engages children in creative and intellectual ways”; “offers a screenless activity”; “gave my son something else to do besides watching TV”; “gave positive reinforcement through words”; “glad the activity came to her because she can’t leave her hospital room”; “helps take my child’s mind off of his sickness and of what’s going around him in the hospital”; “collaborative activity.”

Conclusion:
Through a poetry intervention, this study found statistically significant reductions in symptom burden among pediatric patients in the inpatient setting. Providing space for poetic expression decreases children’s feelings of fear, sadness, anger, worry, and fatigue. Study limitations included it occurred at only one institution with one facilitator over the course of a 6-month period. Future aims include increasing the sample size for further data analysis, and observing the applicability at additional institutions. This data could serve as a model to design, implement, and adopt similar poetry programs at multiple inpatient pediatric settings.