pap201-13.3 An intervention to construct an explanation of illness with children

Aim: to illustrate a social constructivist methodology employed in the creation of a children’s book intended at explaining Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) to newly diagnosed young patients. Method: An intervention based on the active involvement of children and adolescents with a medical condition was developed and was made of different phases: 1. the initial creation of a comic- based interactive workbook; 2. the implementation of a workshop with children already affected by JIA; 3. the final collection and organisation of children’s narratives into a final children’s book; 4. the revision of the children’s materials with a group of expert and stakeholders. Results: Each phase of the process led to a meaningful contribution of the final book. The employed social constructivist approach combined with an open and welcoming environment for children facilitated children’s expression of feelings and their ability to listen to their peers. Paediatric consultants gave scientific comments and made the final product medically solid and up-to-date with the latest therapeutic recommendations. The final book is currently employed as a communication tools in children’s hospital all over Italy. Discussion: This intervention shows how an original method to provide writing recommendations and information to children with JIA. Children’s narratives provided insights and information that were sometimes new to medical practitioners and that would probably be otherwise neglected. Conclusions: Written material addressed to children needs to be developed with a systematic methodology which takes a proper account of children’s voices. The intervention explained here is based on a combination of narrative thought and social constructivism that has shown to be effective in helping children understand JIA and may therefore be extended to future interventions held in different contexts.