Pediatric nursing
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Therapeutic play for hospitalized preschoolers in Lebanon.
Therapeutic play in the form of an interactive puppet show was administered to 50 preschool children one day before surgery in a hospital in Lebanon. A control group of 50 preschool children received routine care but no therapeutic play. Physiological and behavioral measures were assessed on admission, at the time of a stressful procedure (preoperative injection), after surgery, and after discharge. ⋯ Following surgery, the experimental group took less time to void their bladders, another physiological indication of lower stress level. After hospital discharge, the children who had received therapeutic play had significantly lower scores on all six factors of the Post Hospital Behavior Questionnaire. This study demonstrates that therapeutic play is a valid means of reducing stressful responses to hospitalization and surgery among children in Lebanon.
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Family-centered care is increasingly considered "best practice." Yet, recent research points to a discrepancy between philosophy and practice (Bruce & Ritchie, 1997). To make family-centered care a full reality will require the examination of the assumptions underlying the practice of individual health care providers, agencies, and institutions. ⋯ Identifying them in practice will require a process of reflection. Once assumptions underlying the current practice of an individual or institution are made conscious, assumptions that interfere with family-centered practices can be identified.