(CCCNP006) USE OF ARTS-BASED METHODS IN RESEARCH DESIGN TO ENHANCE PATIENT ENGAGEMENT

Background: Patient and caregiver engagement in research (PER), involving people with lived experience throughout the research process, is important in generating knowledge to improve healthcare delivery. Arts-based research methods (ABM), using art in the research process, can be used to share knowledge in an aesthetic way. Together, PER and ABM are potentially synergistic, as both are participatory, problem-focused, dialogic, and collaborative; yet little is known of the utility of ABM for PER.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A literature review was performed to identify, collate, and summarize the use of ABM for PER, explore the ways ABM have been used for PER, and share the impacts of ABM on PER. The databases CINAHL, Scopus, and PubMed were searched, and 12 articles were ultimately included.
Between 2009 to 2022, 5 studies were conducted in Canada, 4 in the United Kingdom, 2 in the United States and 1 in the Netherlands. Participants ranged across the lifespan from pediatric to older adults. ABM included visual voices, performance poetry, draw-write-tell techniques, photovoice, digital storytelling and visual art. The use of ABM for PER was found to be a decolonizing method that shifted power from researchers to participants and reduced the sense of tokenism. As the participants shared their knowledge directly through their art, there was a deeper understanding of their perspectives, especially those which cannot be put into words: emotions, feelings, and relationships.

Conclusion: The use of ABM for PER is becoming increasingly common over time in countries where ABM and PER are valued and supported by national funding bodies. When ABM are used for PER, there is a positive impact on the study and on the patient and caregiver partners. Arts-based researchers should consider the benefits of the participatory nature of ABM and explore how to engage patients and caregivers in their work beyond data collection. Researchers engaging patients and caregivers should consider using ABM to elicit aesthetic knowledge and strengthen the equalization of power among team members.
There is potential in using ABM for PER in research. ABM create artistic and unique opportunities to partner with patients and caregivers, shifting the biomedical paradigm to that of person-ensuring care that is patient-centred.