The effectiveness of therapeutic play, using virtual reality computer games, in promoting the psychological well‐being of children hospitalised with cancer

Abstract

The findings heighten the awareness in healthcare professionals that play is a very important part of children's life and that they need play even when they are ill.

A enfermagem ante os desafios enfrentados pela família na alimentação de criança em quimioterapia

“…A utilização da distração como ferramenta para melhorar a alimentação é algo simples e eficaz que pode ser utilizado pelos familiares de crianças com dificuldade na alimentação (19). Para esse fim, o lúdico é reconhecido como uma medida terapêutica, capaz de promover a continuidade do desenvolvimento infantil e possibilita o restabelecimento físico e emocional por tornar o processo de adoecimento menos traumatizante (20).…”

Experiences of Nursing Students in Caring for Pediatric Cancer Patients

“…The use of therapeutic games as a method used in communication is important for children to cope with stress and to maintain their emotional and physical well-being during hospitalization (Li et al, 2011). It is important for health professionals to be aware of the importance of games in the lives of children and to accommodate this requirement for paediatric hospital patients, and use it especially in solving communication problems.…”

Revealing the World of Oncological Treatment Through Dramatic Therapeutic Play

“…In this way, it is identified in the above discourse that the way in which the child perceives the care provided by the health team, allied to her inability to deal with new and conflicting situations, causes the experience to be understood in a sad and painful way. 4 Although many invasive and painful procedures cannot be avoided, they can be attenuated through the use of a simple vocabulary and the use of play-based 15 /educational 16 interventions, which allow the child's understanding, encouraging her to express feelings, doubts and fears.…”

“…3 One study used computer games to help children with cancer deal with the stress of hospitalization, and concluded that the emotional conditions are essential in recovering health, both in the treatment and in the way in which the disease was consolidated in the child's imagination. 4 With a focus on this care, which promotes the emotional integrity of the child with cancer, the health actions must also provide healthy growth and development. 4 Children aged between three and nine years old were invited to express their experiences regarding cancer through pictures, and revealed that the disease determines times of discomfort related to the treatment, but also times of comfort linked to support from family members and from the health team, in addition to the distraction activities: playing, playing games, and reading.…”

“…4 With a focus on this care, which promotes the emotional integrity of the child with cancer, the health actions must also provide healthy growth and development. 4 Children aged between three and nine years old were invited to express their experiences regarding cancer through pictures, and revealed that the disease determines times of discomfort related to the treatment, but also times of comfort linked to support from family members and from the health team, in addition to the distraction activities: playing, playing games, and reading. 3 Play is a basic need for the child and it is through this that she acquires new knowledges in and of the world, discovers her individuality, and learns to distinguish between reality and fantasy.…”