Brinquedo terapêutico na administração de medicação endovenosa em crianças: estudo exploratório

Abstract

Aim: To identify the reactions of children during intravenous drug administration before and after the use of a therapeutic play technique and to analyse their companions’ perceptions regarding the technique’s effects on the child’s preparation for intravenous drug administration. Method: An exploratory study with a qualitative approach conducted through observations of intravenous drug administration and therapeutic play sessions with children and semi-structured interviews with their companions. The data were subjected to thematic analysis. Results: Children who had difficulty accepting intravenous medication, especially those between 4 and 6 years, presented positive behavioural changes after the use of therapeutic play. The children’s companions recommended the use of this technique to improve care and reduce stress during drug administration. Conclusion: Therapeutic play is a relevant nursing intervention for minimizing children’s reactions during intravenous drug administration, and the training of nurses and the promotion of technique are important for improving care.

Play Therapy as an Intervention in Hospitalized Children: A Systematic Review

“…The professionals, knowing which domain of the children they want to improve or change, can focus their play therapy intervention on the application of those processes inside the games. Based on the literature review, some characteristics that are common in almost all of the studies [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] and that should be taken into account in a model for play therapy interventions with children at the hospital are the following: the duration should be between 30 min and 1 and half hour; dolls/toys should be used for symbolic play (the dolls/toys receive the treatment/interventions that are going to be performed on the child); the child should repeat the procedures with the dolls/toys after seeing the professional doing it; sanitary material should be included in the sessions; the child should have the opportunity to ask questions and decline to play if they want to. Based on these basic standards, the session should be creatively adapted to what the healthcare staff want to achieve.…”

“…After the sessions, the children were more calm and relaxed, cooperating with the professional who performed the technique. It also improved the level of trust in the nurse-child relationship [16][17][18].…”

“…Other studies have pointed out that therapeutic play sessions in hospitalized children can improve their behaviors, as this distracts and amuses them during their hospital stay [16][17][18][19]. In addition, the study by Al-Yateem et al [20] informs that play therapy decreases the level of anxiety in boys during their hospital stay.…”

“…Regarding the behavior of children in specific nursing techniques, such as the puncture or administration of intravenous medication, some studies [18,19] indicate the importance of applying play therapy. After the sessions, the children were more calm and relaxed, cooperating with the professional who performed the technique.…”

“…The duration of the play therapy sessions was not indicated in all the studies [16,17,19], and it was 30 min sessions in the studies that included this information [18,20]…”