Participatory art-based research with children to gain their perspectives on designing healthcare environments.

BACKGROUND: A study was designed to understand the experiences and needs of children within the public spaces of the Outpatients Department of New Zealand's national children's hospital, Starship Childrens' Directorate.

AIM: To find out from children what they thought about the outpatient environment.

DESIGN: A participatory art based methodology was used.

METHODS: Based around the key areas of the physical environment, wayfinding, noise, and uniforms, art-based methods (draw and tell and letter writing) were used to collect data from 175 children ages 5-16 whilst they attended outpatient clinics. The drawings and letters were analysed using descriptive/thematic analysis.

RESULTS: The findings show that children are very aware of their environment and are able to clearly voice what is important to them. Children appreciate environments that are child friendly, and inclusive of colour and artwork; however, wayfinding remains a challenge for many families. Although the environment was seen as important, children placed significant value on the people who demonstrated warmth and care within these environments.

CONCLUSION: Participatory art based approaches offer a child centred approach to finding out what children perceive is important in the design of hospital environments.