Living dangerously--the effect of chronic pulmonary and renal failure on self-image

Patients with severe chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) are difficult to interview because of their inability to verbalize freely. The draw-a-person (DAP) and the draw-a-house (DAH) tests were given to COLD patients (n = 14), and to patients on chronic renal dialysis (n = 14). The COLD patients showed significantly more disorganization in the drawings (p less than 0.05 for DAP and p less than 0.001 for DAH) than the renal patients. There were certain other findings specific to the circumstances of each disorder. The DAP and DAH may be clinically useful in rapidly identifying the patients in need of greater psychosocial support.