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

Background: Hospitalization disrupts children’s lives and can produce feelings such as anxiety, fear, or pain. Playing is an important part of children’s lives. Thus, it is necessary to ensure holistic care during the process, including play therapy. The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of therapeutic play in hospitalized children. Methods: A systematic review was performed. The search was conducted in CINAHL (Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature), CUIDEN, and PubMed (Medline). The search equation was “pediatric nurs* AND play therapy”. The search was performed in March 2020. Results: n = 14 studies were included in the review. The studies reveal that the application of therapeutic play in hospitalized children decreases postoperative pain, improves behavior and attitude, and reduces anxiety during the hospital stay. Conclusions: play therapy has a beneficial impact on the care of hospitalized children and should be implemented in pediatric units after assessing the resources and training needed for pediatric nurses.