Designing Well-Being: A Qualitative Investigation of Young Patients' Perspectives on the Material Hospital Environment.

BACKGROUND: Physical surroundings of healthcare facilities are suggested to influence young patients' well-being and hospitalization experiences. PURPOSE: The current research seeks to understand young patients' views and perspectives of the hospital lobby and inpatient rooms. Thus, a qualitative study was carried out in a social pediatric clinic for young patients with disabilities, developmental delays, behavioral problems, and chronic health conditions, that is undergoing reconstruction. METHOD: Operating from a critical realist position, the study employed arts-based methods in conjunction with semi-structured interviews. The data were explored by employing thematic analysis. RESULTS: 37 young people between the age of four and 30 years participated in the study. The analysis illustrates that the built environment should contain comforting and joyful elements, while enabling patients' autonomy. The ideal lobby was depicted as open and accessible and an ideal patient room as practical and adapted to personal needs. CONCLUSION: It is suggested that disabling and medicalized spatial arrangements and features may restrict young people's sense of control and autonomy, while possibly posing a barrier to a health-promoting environment. Large and open spaces with comforting and distracting features are cherished by patients and may be embedded in a comprehensive, yet simple overall design and structural concept.

A press(ing) issue: analysing local news coverage of abortion in the US South during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, some US state governments banned abortion due to its allegedly 'elective' nature. While these actions were successfully challenged in courts, discussion about the topic may have shaped personal and public opinion. This study aimed to explore the framing of abortion in local newspapers during the onset of the pandemic. Articles regarding abortion were collected from three top circulated local online news publications from three southern US states. Of the states that attempted to block abortions, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were selected for their high non-White populations. Using critical thematic analysis, 77 articles were analysed, and four themes were identified: individual-centric, public health risk, interplay with inequalities, and hierarchical health care. Existing abortion narratives were taken up by different sides of the debate to push political agendas. However, new pro-/anti-abortion justifications were observed, specifically regarding public health concerns during COVID-19. Anti-abortion activists framed abortion provision as a health risk and employed other narratives that likely reinforced gendered, ethnic and socioeconomic power disparities by shifting blame onto abortion seekers and providers. However, pro-choice supporters framed abortion as essential health care and as a structural issue, which may have bolstered awareness for structural change.

"I Don't Want to Have Sex as a Woman": A Qualitative Study Exploring Sexuality and Sexual Practices of Drag Queens in Germany.

Drag queens are typically gay men who perform as caricature-like women. They thereby publicly challenge "naturally" binary gender role categories, though it remains unclear how that interplays with their private (e.g., sexual) lives. This study seeks to answer this question by exploring the sexuality and sexual practices of drag queens. Employing a critical realist approach, ten semi-structured interviews were conducted in Germany, with questions focusing on the drag queens' views on sexuality and sexual positioning. By adopting a thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: natural versus artificial identity; advocacy for sexuality; and rejection of heteronormativity. Results suggest that the primary intention of drag queens is to challenge heteronorms, while they regularly adhered to these privately. This illustrates the distinction made by the participants between their "public" persona, an artificial character that lacks sexuality, and their "private" life (e.g., sexual practices), shaped by an "inborn" sexuality.

Ethical and practical challenges of conducting art-based research with children/young people in the public space of a children's outpatient department.

This article examines the ethical and practical challenges of undertaking a study using art-based methods with children/young people. It is argued that an important component of qualitative research and research with children/young people is researcher reflexivity and flexibility, particularly when the anticipated and actual implemented methods of a study differ. We draw on a study with 175 children/young people aged 5-16 years in a children's outpatients department where 'draw-and-tell' and 'letter writing' were used to elicit children/young people's perceptions of the outpatient environment. The challenges that arose during the study are critically reflected on including recruitment, the physical and social environment, time restrictions and interviewing. Recommendations for researchers using art-based methods to carry out research with children/young people are offered.

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.