Using the instructional therapeutic play during admission of children to hospital: the perception of the family

Abstract

Objective: To understand, from the family’s perspective, the meaning of admitting the child in the hospital with the use of the instructional therapeutic play. Method: A phenomenological research with 12 families of children aged four to nine years old, recently admitted to a public and teaching hospital, in the inland of the state of São Paulo, from October to December 2016. They participated in an instructional therapeutic play session focusing on the procedures performed at hospital admission: weight, height, and vital sign measurements and test collection. The families, in turn, were invited to participate in a phenomenological interview the day after the session. Results: The instructional therapeutic play collaborated in the therapeutic procedures by understanding and modifying the child’s behavior. Also stressed by the families was the need for the toy to be incorporated as nursing care. Conclusion: Given the benefits to the child, the family believes that this strategy should be performed as a routine nursing care and, therefore, performed systematically during child hospitalization.