The Effects of a Therapeutic Play/Play Therapy Program on the Fear and Anxiety Levels of Hospitalized Children After Liver Transplantation

Background: Hospitalization disrupts children’s lives and can produce feelings such as anxiety, fear, or pain. Playing is an important part of children’s lives. Thus, it is necessary to ensure holistic care during the process, including play therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of therapeutic play in hospitalized children. Methods: A systematic review was performed. The search was conducted in CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), CUIDEN, and PubMed (Medline). The search equation was “pediatric nurs* AND play therapy”. The search was performed in March 2020. Results: n = 14 studies were included in the review. The studies reveal that the application of therapeutic play in hospitalized children decreases postoperative pain, improves behavior and attitude, and reduces anxiety during the hospital stay. Conclusions: play therapy has a beneficial impact on the care of hospitalized children and should be implemented in pediatric units after assessing the resources and training needed for pediatric nurses.

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The Effectiveness of Play Therapy in Hospitalized Children with Cancer: Systematic Review

Journal Of Nursing Practice ◽

10.30994/jnp.v3i2.92 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 233-243

Author(s):

Hajaratul Azwaningsih Ibrahim ◽

Arbianingsih ◽

Andi Adriana Amal ◽

Huriati

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Play Therapy ◽

Hospitalized Children ◽

School Age ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Children With Cancer ◽

Therapy Model ◽

Quantitative Descriptive ◽

Therapy Interventions ◽

Therapeutic Play

Background: Play therapy in cancer children is a major intervention that can meet the needs of playing in children who are hospitalized.Purpose: This study aimed to determine an effective play therapy model given to children with cancer undergoing hospitalization.Methods: The research design used is quantitative descriptive with a Systematic Review approach. Data collection techniques using article search sources in this study are Pubmed, Science Direct, Google Schoolar, Portal Garuda, JOIN, IJSR, and Emerald. Articles published from 2015-2019 and focus on play therapy interventions in children suffering from cancer.Results: The results of the analysis of nine articles in accordance with the inclusion criteria about play therapy in children with cancer proved effective in reducing hospitalization of children. The play therapy used in the selected article is drawing, painting, puzzle, storytelling, cognitive behavior and therapeutic play with 20-60 minutes of execution time.Conclusion: The play therapy is recommended for use because the technique is simple, does not require a lot of tools and materials, is easy, affordable and can be done by children with preschool and school-age cancer who are hospitalized.

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