Sammanfattning
Art as a soothing factor is well known, and there is a growing awareness of the importance
of sense impressions to patients. The aim was to explore whether self-elected art on the wards
affected hospitalized patients in a Danish, somatic hospital, making the patients experience
well-being, pleasure, and recreation during their hospitalizations. We used mixed methods
in the form of a register form, a focus group, individual interviews, and a questionnaire. For
patients, it is significant how the hospital ward is decorated, and this may even be decisive
for whether the patient is comfortable during hospitalization. Active involvement of patients
when choosing the art to be hung by their beds supplied the majority of patients with increased
pleasure and entertainment during their hospitalizations. Elective art in the hospital ward had
impact on patients’ psychological resources, and the patients experienced that their caregivers
had more focus on them.