Effectiveness of Visual Art Therapy in Improving Psychological Distress in Cancer Patients: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Cancer patients suffer from the physical and mental consequences of its treatment. Despite regular treatment, a non-pharmacological intervention is uncommonly used to alleviate the psychological distress of hospitalized patients in Indonesia. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of visual art therapy in decreasing the anxiety and depressive symptoms in cancer patients.

Materials & Methods:

This quasi-experimental study recruited 121 cancer patients from Dharmais Cancer Hospital Indonesia. The participants were divided into an intervention group (n=43) and the usual care group (n=78). The visual art therapy consisted of 3 sessions such as drawing pictures based on their feeling, drawing pictures inside the circle, and showing and presenting pictures. This intervention was delivered during hospital stays or guided by telephones if they went home in two weeks between April to August 2019 by researchers. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale was completed to collect anxiety and depressive symptoms. Independent t-test and Chi-Square test were used to determine the homogeneity of variables. The outcomes of the post-test and pre-test between groups were carried out by analysis of covariance.

At baselines, participants’ characteristics were homogenous, except for anxiety and depression levels. The intervention group had higher anxiety and depression levels (p<00.1) compared to the usual care group at the baselines. The post-test scores of anxiety (p<0.001) and depressive symptoms (p<0.001) of the intervention group significantly decreased compared to the usual care group.

Visual art therapy improves anxiety and depressive symptoms in cancer patients.