Synopsis
This article describes a study that was conducted with the aim of investigating the difficulties that nurses face in using playfulness to care for hospitalized children with cancer. The study is a descriptive research conducted using a qualitative approach. It was conducted in a pediatric inpatient sector at a hospital situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eleven subjects made up of professionals drawn from the nursing team took part in the study. The investigators conducted data collection step in April 2012 through semi-structured interview and non-participant observation.
Findings obtained from the study were grouped into three thematic units (Bastos et al., 2014): difficulties related to toys in the sector, difficulties related to child’s behavioral conditions, and the difficulties related to work dynamics: lack of time. The study concludes that the attention nurses pay to the children’s need for playing in the inpatient sectors is inadequate. Consequently, the study suggests that health institutions and schools of nursing should incorporate trainings on peculiarities of each patient for whom the professionals care.
Implication for Nursing
The acting on the findings from this study can change various aspects of care delivery in nursing. Most importantly, adoption of the recommendations of this study would facilitate a paradigm shift in the health care sector from the prevailing biomedical paradigm to a biopsychosocial pattern. As a result of this study, the training curriculum in the schools of nursing and health institutions will emphasize the need to focus on the peculiarities of all the subjects that health care professionals treat. More resources will also be allocated to cater for all the needs of patients. The health sector might also start emphasizing the need to incorporate the use of playfulness in care delivery. Policies might also emerge that guide the incorporation by nurses of playfulness in providing care to children.
References
Bastos Depianti, J. R., Silva, L. F. D., Monteiro, A. C. M., & Soares, R. S. (2014). Nursing difficulties in using playfulness to care for a hospitalized child with cancer. Revista de Pesquisa: Cuidado é Fundamental Online, 6(3), 1117-1127.
