What a Hospital Should Be
Among the many features of childhood is children’s sense of powerlessness and lack of control over what happens to them. Perhaps under no other circumstance is this reality more evident than when children are hospitalized. In an effort to explore children’s needs, wants, wishes, desires, and hopes when hospitalized, a paediatric artists-in-residence program spearheaded a month-long project for approximately 40 children and young people ages 4 to 20 years (31 currently hospitalized and 9 outpatients) that asked them to design features of their ideal hospital and create art – drawings, paintings, collages, prints, sculpture, stories, poetry, dance, music – to depict their ideas. The project, funded in part by the LEGO Children’s Fund, culminated in a celebratory event and presentation of the children’s work. Analysis of their creative products, observations, and interviews revealed children’s recognition of the importance of (a) physical/material features, (b) caring relationships, (c) stimulating/peaceful atmosphere, (d) empowerment, and (e) wishes/hope as contributing to what a hospital should be. Focusing on more than the design features and other physical elements of the hospital environment, children perceived their ideal hospital to be a place where their families and friends are welcome; hospital staff members are kind, understanding, and connected; the hospital atmosphere is one that offers the choice of stimulation or calm; there are opportunities for children and young people to be in control, courageous, and empowered; and children are supported in their efforts to keep hope alive. Although the hospital’s physical elements are important and support other crucial psychosocial issues for hospitalized children, children in this study also gave voice to the significant contribution of their parents and the people who work within the walls of the institution. The children seemed to acknowledge their own personal strength and optimism as important elements in what a hospital should be.
Rollins, J. (2009). What a hospital should be. In W. Turgeon (Ed.), Creativity and the child: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 201–211). Oxford, England: Inter-Disciplinary Press. Available at http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/CE-09.pdf