| Approximately 1,285 Canadian children (aged 0-19 years) are diagnosed with cancer annually (National Cancer Institute of Canada, 2006). There has been little investigation about children's views on non-traditional places of care provision. An exploratory, retrospective, qualitative design was used to elicit children's perspectives on and responses to a specialized summer camp and their suggestions for change. Gesler's (1991, 1992) notion of therapeutic landscape (TL) was used to conceptualize the physical and social environments of the camp.;Children with cancer who were 6-16 years of age, spoke English or French, and lived in Ontario were eligible to participate in the study. Children who had severe neurological and/or sensory impairments, were receiving palliative care, or had participated in counselor-in-training or adolescent programs were excluded. Data were collected during individual, semi-structured interviews using photograph elicitation techniques with 35 children within 7 days following a for 2-week session at camp. The data were analyzed based on a coding scheme consistent with the TL framework.;The overarching theme that reflected children's general perspectives on camp was Watching Over Me. This theme included two sub themes: (a) Feeling Cared For and (b) Feeling Cared About. Data categorized in the first sub theme focused on regimens of care and included children's descriptions of being kept safe and receiving treatment. Data categorized in the second sub theme focused on children's accounts of actions that compensated for regimented care and included supportive care and playful care. Children's responses to feeling watched over were categorized as accommodative and resistant behaviours. Children's suggestions for change focused on providing more choices, space, and supportive places.;In summary, children perceived a network of adults and other campers watching over them. In various contexts, they accommodated to or resisted this surveillance. These findings suggest ways to enhance the delivery of health care to children in non-traditional places of care. |
