Integrating mindfulness and the expressive arts for meaning making in cancer care: A grounded theory of the processes, facilitators, and challenges.

Purpose: There is a growing interest in mindfulness-based expressive arts interventions in oncology, to help patients process their experiences, learn how to live with cancer, and ameliorate psychological distress. Our research purpose was to explore how patients with cancer experience a mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention, and to articulate individual and contextual factors influencing their experiences.

Methods: We conducted a constructivist grounded theory study and recruited 32 participants who experienced a 10-week mindfulness-based expressive arts group intervention at a tertiary cancer center in mid-Western Canada.

Dialoguing With Images: An Expressive Arts Method for Health Research.

Despite the increasing integration of arts-based methods within qualitative research, few expressive arts methods have been studied to understand their process, rationale and impact on the inquiry process. We conducted a grounded theory study on family experiences of paediatric HSCT where we simultaneously adapted and studied a 'dialoguing with images' (DI) expressive arts process as method. Fifteen family members participated in two interviews, drew an image and were guided through the DI method.

Growth in the face of overwhelming pressure: A narrative review of sibling donor experiences in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Sibling donation in pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) can be emotionally distressing for children, but may simultaneously evoke positive emotions, and has the potential to facilitate personal growth. We conducted a narrative review of sibling donor experiences, which included an analysis of psychosocial distress and post-traumatic growth (PTG). We searched the following databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycInfo, and SCOPUS.

Mindfulness-based arts interventions for cancer care: A systematic review of the effects on wellbeing and fatigue.

Objective: Upon receiving a cancer diagnosis, life irrevocably changes and complex experiences of emotional distress often occur. There is a growing interest in mindfulness-based arts interventions (MBAIs) to ameliorate the distress many patients experience. Our review objective was to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of MBAIs on psychological wellbeing and fatigue.

Falling Down the Rabbit Hole: Child and Family Experiences of Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant.

Pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is an intensive treatment that can be life-threatening. All family members experience distress. We conducted a grounded theory study using a family systems-expressive arts framework to develop a theoretical understanding of the family experience of HSCT.

Effectiveness of mindfulness-based arts interventions on psychological wellbeing and fatigue in adults with a physical illness: a systematic review protocol.

The objective of this review is to synthesize evidence on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based arts interventions on psychological wellbeing and fatigue in adults with a physical illness.

Digital storytelling as a method in health research: a systematic review protocol.

Background: Digital storytelling is an arts-based research method with potential to elucidate complex narratives in a compelling manner, increase participant engagement, and enhance the meaning of research findings. This method involves the creation of a 3- to 5-min video that integrates multimedia materials including photos, participant voices, drawings, and music. Given the significant potential of digital storytelling to meaningfully capture and share participants' lived experiences, a systematic review of its use in healthcare research is crucial to develop an in-depth understanding of how researchers have used this method, with an aim to refine and further inform future iterations of its use.

Waiting to return to normal: an exploration of family systems intervention in childhood cancer.

The illness suffering of families in childhood cancer is characterized in part by a loss of family normalcy. Hermeneutic phenomenology and family process research methods were used to analyze videotaped family intervention sessions and post-intervention family/clinician interviews. Within this article, some of the findings from the larger doctoral study that focused on the illness suffering of family members and relational, family systems intervention based on the Illness Beliefs Model are described.

Existential anxiety and growth: an exploration of computerized drawings and perspectives of children and adolescents with cancer.

Background: Until now, most existentially focused cancer research has been conducted within adult populations. Only a handful of qualitative investigations have captured the experiences of children with cancer relative to themes such as existential fear and finitude, meaning/meaninglessness, uncertainty, authenticity, and inauthenticity.

Objective: This article aimed to provide a deeper understanding of the existential challenges faced by children living with cancer.