Perception of Health Care Workers Regarding Ludic Activities in Pediatric Hospitals

Abstract

Infant hospitalization is a difficult process for a developing child because it is related to a series of losses and trauma. In this sense, ludic treatment contributes to ease hospital permanence, thus favoring child development and, in certain aspects, even the cure. The sense of life finitude afflicts the child, the family, and those that accompany it during hospitalization. In this context, the perceptions of workers composing the multidisciplinary health care team regarding the application of ludic activities in pediatric public hospitals in São Luís/MA were investigated. Therefore, a descriptive exploratory research was carried out in two hospitals that had a pediatric treatment macrostructure within their functional dependencies with all medical and complementary specialties available for the infant public, thus comprising a multidisciplinary health team. Participants comprised 8 workers (2 doctors, 2 nurses, 2 psychologists and 2 occupational therapists), including 6 women and 2 men with an average of 6 years of professional experience in pediatric hospitals. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Results indicated that ludic activities are relevant for children socialization and integration in the hospitalization reality. The health care workers from the multidisciplinary health team emphasize that ludic such activities in pediatric hospitals contribute to the child’s health recovery and therefore to the pathology treatment.