Effects of Play Therapy on the Anxiety Level of Children in the Hospital

Abstract

Hospitalization often proved to be frightening and unpleasant for children, causing anxiety. Thus, it was crucial to integrate play therapy into the care planning process. The purpose of this study was to describe the effects of play therapy on the level of anxiety of children and its importance in hospital care. Accordingly, the aim was to produce new insights into the impacts of play therapy on children’s anxiety levels in the context of hospital care which would greatly benefit nurses and child’s well-being.

This study was a descriptive literature review. The relevant articles were obtained from two reliable academic databases CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature) and PubMed (Medline). Ten (10) articles available in full text, published in English, and within the ten-year allocated period were chosen for this literature review. The principles of inductive content analysis were utilized in analyzing the data to produce categorical representations of the findings.

The result of this study indicated that integrating play therapy as a means of aiding hospitalized children yielded a multitude of positive effects on their anxiety levels. The integration led to a reduction of fear, worry, negative thoughts, and anxiety, enabling children to better understand their hospitalization and perceive it with less apprehension. Subsequently, it addressed the psychological, emotional-behavioral and physiological effects of play therapy as well as underscored its significance in nursing care and overall child’s well-being thereby promoting the development of trust, cooperation and compliance.

Based on the findings of this study, play therapy effectively reduced anxiety and negative emotions among hospitalized children. The findings highlighted the importance of integrating play therapy into standard care in pediatric patients. Thus, integrating play therapy programs across all hospitals is recommended. This approach fosters a nurturing, child-centered environment and improves the overall hospital experience for young patients by alleviating anxiety and fear associated with medical procedures. In addition, it is proposed that hospitals allocate resources to enlist the services of child play therapists when budgetary considerations allow. Further studies are encouraged using other variables to enhance this study.