DrawingOut - An innovative drawing workshop method to support the generation and dissemination of research findings

Visual reconstructions of endometriosis pain: An interdisciplinary visual methodology for illness representation

OBJECTIVES

Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which tissue resembling the endometrium grows outside of the womb, causing severe chronic pain. Research demonstrates the physical, emotional and quality of life impact on people with endometriosis, but pain is reportedly difficult to communicate, resulting in lengthier diagnosis. This work aimed to gain insight into the value of imagery production as a pain communication strategy through a novel synergy of psychological and linguistic/socio-semiotic approaches.

DESIGN

A qualitative, multimodal, participant-generated imagery study.

METHODS

Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) and conceptual metaphor and metonymy analysis were utilized to examine visual representations of endometriosis pain. Data were collected in two focus groups with four and six women, respectively; all with a diagnosis of endometriosis, aged 25-40 years old (M = 34.5, SD = 4.2) and a mean diagnosis delay of 8.4 years (SD = 3.6).

RESULTS

The overarching theme across visual representations was 'Pain as Physical Violence' with 'colour as emotional representation', 'texture as sensory qualities' and 'materials as sensation' as sub-themes. These are realized through metaphorical and metonymical relations in both the visual representations as well as the accompanying linguistic representation of the process.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates the value of a creative mixed-methodologies approach to capture experiential aspects of pain and its impact that are not verbalized in linguistic accounts alone. This can facilitate a deeper understanding of one's pain, acting as a medium for therapeutic adjustment to occur, while facilitating effective and empathic patient-professional conversations surrounding pain.

Impact of a Science Art Exhibit on Public Interest and Student Comprehension of Disease Ecology Research

Art is a common approach for communicating and educating about science, yet it remains unclear the extent to which science art can benefit varied audiences in varied contexts. To examine this gap, we developed an art exhibit based on the findings of two publications in disease ecology. In study 1, we asked visitors with varying formal science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education backgrounds to complete a survey about their interest in science research before and after viewing the exhibit. In study 2, we recruited upper-level ecology undergraduate students to receive one of three treatments: engage with the art exhibit, read the abstracts of the papers, or do neither. Students completed a comprehension quiz immediately after their learning treatment and again 2 weeks later to evaluate retention. Following the exhibit, visitors who did not report a career or major in STEM showed a greater increase in research interest than visitors who did report a career or major in STEM. For the ecology undergraduate students, comprehension quiz scores were higher for students in the abstract group than the art exhibit group, while both groups scored higher than the control group. Retention of information did not significantly differ between the three groups. Overall, these findings suggest that science art exhibits are an effective method for increasing the accessibility of science to broader audiences and that audience identifiers (e.g., level of formal education in STEM) play an important role in audience experience of science communication and science education initiatives.

Children’s Social Representations of This Invisible and Never Previously Known COVID-19 Virus

Children are the forgotten group as they have been excluded from examining how they understand information about COVID-19. This study examined how children in Greece represent the COVID-19 virus. The drawing method was used as a process of meaning construction combining subjective experiences with socio-cultural meanings. Thirty-four children aged 4 to 6 years old (M = 5.4) were asked to draw a picture of the COVID-19 virus and explain their drawings verbally. This study used participant-created drawings to assess how children represent the COVID-19 virus and reports that drawing is an effective method of examining children’s social representations. Methodologically, by using drawing, this study reveals layers of social representations that may be difficult to put into words. Three distinct themes, namely “scientific” knowledge of the virus, the COVID-19 virus as the enemy, and the confinement situation, were identified in the children’s visualizations and verbalizations constituting children’s social representations of COVID-19. This study’s results show that social representations give meaning to a novel reality and allow the participating children to direct themselves as regards this novel reality.

Individual and structural correlates of willingness for intravenous buprenorphine treatment among people who inject sublingual buprenorphine in France

BACKGROUND

Some people do not benefit from oral administration of opioid agonist treatment, and an intravenous (IV) formulation may be more suitable. Our objective was to evaluate the willingness of people who regularly inject sublingual buprenorphine to receive IV buprenorphine as a prescribed treatment, and to examine related correlates.

METHODS

We performed a secondary analysis of data from the cross-sectional study PrebupIV, conducted in France in 2015 among 557 people who inject opioids. The study comprised questionnaires completed either face to face or online and community-based workshops. We only included participants who reported buprenorphine as their main injected drug (n = 209). Willingness to receive IV buprenorphine treatment was measured on a scale from 0 to 10. Ordinal logistic regression identified correlates of willingness. Artworks and testimonies from participants in the workshops were also used to illustrate correlates of willingness.

RESULTS

Among the 209 participants, the mean score (SD) for willingness to receive IV buprenorphine was 8.0 (2.8). Multivariate analysis showed that participants who reported using non-prescribed buprenorphine (AOR = 4.82, p = 0.019), a higher daily dosage of buprenorphine (AOR (for 1 mg) = 1.05, p = 0.043), and a higher number of complications due to injection (AOR = 2.28, p = 0.037), were more willing to receive IV buprenorphine treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

Willingness to initiate IV buprenorphine treatment was high among people who regularly inject sublingual buprenorphine. A prescribed IV formulation could attract and retain more people into care and reduce harms associated with the injection of buprenorphine tablets.

Women from diverse minority ethnic or religious backgrounds desire more infertility education and more culturally and personally sensitive fertility care

STUDY QUESTION

What are the views, experiences and healthcare needs of infertile women from a minority ethnic or religious background living in Wales?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Women from ethnic and religious minority backgrounds consider that their communities have highly pronatalistic attitudes and stigmatize infertility, and express the need for more infertility education (for themselves and their communities), as well as more socio-culturally and interpersonally sensitive fertility care.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN

Some people from minority ethnic or religious groups perceive pressure to conceive from their communities, experience social costs when they are unable to have children and stressful interactions with the fertility healthcare system while attempting to conceive.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

This study was based on a one-day drawing workshop to collect visual (artwork produced by participants) and textual (all conversations and discussions during the workshop) data about the participants' views and experiences of infertility and their fertility care needs.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

Participants were nine adult women with a minority ethnic or religious status living in Wales, UK, who were experiencing or had experienced infertility in the past. The workshop comprised five activities: (i) small and large group discussion of infertility-related drawings, (ii) lide-based lecture consisting of an introduction to the basics of drawing objects and people and (iii) thoughts and feelings, (iv) free drawing session and (v) group sharing. Audio recordings of the workshop were transcribed verbatim. Textual data was analysed with thematic analysis. Risk for bias was addressed via individual coding by two authors followed by joint presentation and discussion of results with the research team and participants.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

Forty-one themes were identified and grouped into eight distinct higher order themes. These themes described the emotional, relational and social burden of infertility experienced by women, which they perceived to result from their communities' highly pronatalistic attitudes and stigmatization of infertility. Themes also captured women's adaptive coping strategies and critical attitude towards pronatalist ideologies. Lastly, themes captured their overall positive evaluation of their fertility health care, their desire for more infertility education (for themselves and their communities) and for culturally competent and interpersonally sensitive care.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

Our participants were a small, non-random sample recruited in collaboration with a local charity, which may mean that all participants were well integrated in their communities. Analysis focused on capturing commonalities in participants' experiences and this may sometimes result in homogenising diverse experiences.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

More education about the infertility experiences of minority ethnic and religious groups at the community and healthcare delivery level may translate into lessened negative attitudes towards infertility and more culturally competent care, which can be beneficial for women.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

This research was funded by Welsh Crucible. The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.