A Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Information Booklet on Knowledge regarding Impact of Play Therapy on Anxiety and Fear of Children among Staff Nurses Working in selected Pediatric Hospitals, Davangere

 

Lingaraj L.1, Jyothi K.2, Suma G.M.3, Chaitra S.

1Asst. Professor, Kumuda Institute of Nursing Sciences, Davanagere.

2Lecturer, Kumuda Institute of Nursing Sciences, Davanagere.

3Assistant Professor, Kumuda Institute of Nursing Sciences, Davanagere.

*Corresponding Author E-mail: chaitrasriman95@gmail.com

 

ABSTRACT:

Children are the assets of a nation. Health plays a major role in the future of the children to withstand and meet personal, psychological, and social needs and fulfills the challenges in life. Play is a universal medium for all children’s. It is a pleasurable and enjoyable aspect of children’s life and essential to growth and development. Hospitalization constitutes an unpleasant experience for children, who suddenly have to leave the home and family members, and stop their favorite activities, including play. Objectives: To assess the pre test knowledge level of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children. To assess the post test knowledge level of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children. To evaluate the effectiveness of Information booklet on knowledge of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children. To determine the association between pre test knowledge of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children and selected demographic variables. Methods: A pre-experimental design and evaluative approach was used in the study. The data was collected from 60 subjects; through on probability convenient sampling technique. Data was collected using structured questionnaire. Results: Findings of the study revealed that 60% of the staff nurses had inadequate knowledge and 40% had moderate knowledge in the pretest. After administration of the information booklet 61.7% of the subjects had adequate knowledge, 38.3% had moderate knowledge regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children in the post test. Conclusion: From the study findings, it is understood that the samples had moderate knowledge regarding the impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children among staff nurses working in selected pediatric hospitals. The knowledge level of the staff nurses is increased by providing information booklet. Hence the study emphasizes more responsibility on staff nurses in empowering children’s regarding the importance of play therapy.

 

KEYWORDS: Knowledge, staff nurses, impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children, information booklet.

 

 


INTRODUCTION:

Play is one of the important aspects of child life. It helps child to cope, communicate, learn and master a traumatic experience of hospital. Toys are the “tools” of play and provide a more “natural” environment for a child. The proper selection and use of toys can reduce the traumatic effects of a hospitalization experiences and aid in the recovery phase of illness1.

Therapeutic play is the specialized play activity by which a child acts out or expresses is unconscious feelings. It is differ from normative play in its design and intent. Specialized techniques, strategies and play environment are created for hospitalized child by the health team member2.

 

Play therapy is recognized as one of the key interventions used to relieve pain, promote comfort, and reduce or alleviate anxiety through distracting the child’s mind off the procedure by concentrating on something else. There are many types of   distraction technique like watching TV, controlled breathing, books, games and puzzles music, kaleidoscope, storytelling and talking3.

 

NEED FOR THE STUDY:

A child’s ability to play while being in the hospital constitutes a sign of health in a particularly difficult environment, which shows that the child may continue his/her usual activities, or that there is some progress in the course of the disease. Certainly, there are also other activities which may be helpful to achieve this goal, e.g. dancing, provided that the appropriate conditions are ensured and the child may cope with them4.

 

In addition, play helps children become familiar with the unknown – until then – environment of the hospital, express their feelings and their concerns, feel more comfortable, or familiarize themselves with the medical procedures required (e.g., venipuncture), and make choices so as to feel that they maintain control. Many children use a toy (e.g. a stuffed animal) in order to cope with different medical procedures. Teddy bears often accompany children to the hospital and stuffed animals are in the arms of young children whenever there is a blood test or, for example, when they are vaccinated5.

 

A study was conducted to review, detect and highlight all data cited regarding the role of play during the hospitalization of children.

 

Results of the review study showed that during hospitalization, play either in the form of therapeutic play, or as in the form of play therapy, is proven to be of high therapeutic value for ill children, thus contributing to both their physical and emotional well-being and to their recovery6.

 

OBJECTIVES:

1.     To assess the pre test knowledge level of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children.

2.     To assess the post test knowledge level of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children.

 

 

3.     To evaluate the effectiveness of Information booklet on knowledge of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children.

4.     To determine the association between pre test knowledge of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children and selected demographic variables.   

 

HYPOTHESIS:

H1:   There is a significant difference in the pre test and post test knowledge scores of Staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children.

H2:     There is a significant association between the pre test knowledge of Staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children and selected demographic variables.

 

METHODOLOGY:

Research Design: The research design selected for study was Pre-experimental design.

 

Sampling Technique: Non-probability Convenient sampling technique.

 

Sample: Sample size was 60 Staff Nurses of selected pediatric hospitals.

 

VARIABLES:

Study variable:

Knowledge regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children among staff nurses working in selected pediatric hospitals.

 

Demographic variables:

Age, gender, religion, professional qualification, area of working, experience, source of information and attendance of in-service education programme.

 

SETTING:

The present study was conducted in Sanjeeveni Hospital, Davanagere and Bapuji Child Health Institute and Research Center, Davanagere. 

 

Data Collection Technique:

Section A- It consists of socio demographic profile like Age, gender, religion, professional qualification, area of working, experience, source of information and attendance of in-service education programme are the socio demographic variables.

 

Section B- It consists of structured knowledge questionnaire regarding General information on fear and anxiety in children and General information on play.

 

 

RESULTS:

Section 1: Demographic characteristics of staff nurses

Table1: Frequency and percentage distribution of selected demographic variables of staff nurses n = 60

Variables

Frequency

Percentage

1. Age

 

 

a.      20-30 years

20

33.3

b.      31-40 years

32

53.3

c.      41-50 years

8

13.3

d.      51years and above

0

0.0

2. Gender

 

 

a.      Male

16

26.7

b.      Female

44

73.3

3. Religion

 

 

a.      Hindu

36

60.0

b.      Muslim

12

20.0

c.      Christian

12

20.0

4. Professional Qualification

 

 

a.      Diploma in General Nursing

40

66.7

b.      P.B B.Sc Nursing

12

20.0

c.      B.Sc Nursing

8

13.3

d.      M.Sc. Nursing

0

0.0

5. Area of Working

 

 

a.      Casualty and emergency

8

13.3

b.      ICU

24

40.0

c.      General wards

28

46.7

6. Experience

 

 

a.      Less than 5 years

16

26.7

b.      5-10 years

16

26.7

c.      11-15 years

16

26.7

d.      More than 15 years

12

20.0

7. Source of information

 

 

a.      Journal/Magazine

28

46.7

b.      Conference/Workshop

9

15.0

c.      Colleagues

19

31.7

d.      Others

4

6.7

8. Attendance of in-service education

 

 

a.      Yes

10

16.7

b.      No

50

83.3

 


 

 

Section 2: Knowledge level of staff nurses regarding the impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children

Table 2: Pretest and post test knowledge level of the staff nurses n = 60

Knowledge level

Pre test

Post test

Frequency

%

Frequency

%

a.      Inadequate knowledge

36

60.0

0

0

b.      Moderate knowledge

24

40.0

23

38.3

c.      Adequate knowledge

0

0

37

61.7

Total

60

100.0

60

100.0

 

 

Table3: Area wise analysis of pretest knowledge scores of staff nurses n = 60

Sl. No.

Knowledge aspects

No. of Items

Max Score

Mean

Mean %

SD

1

General information on fear and anxiety in children

6

6

3.73

62.16

1.401

3

General information on play

4

4

1.73

43.25

0.686

3

Therapeutic Play to prevent and manage fear and anxiety

20

20

9.27

46.35

2.59

Overall

30

30

14.73

49.1

2.840

 

 

Table4: Area wise analysis of post test knowledge scores of staff nurses n = 60

Sl. No.

Knowledge aspects

No. of Items

Max Score

Mean

Mean %

SD

1

General information on fear and anxiety in children

6

6

5.0

83.33

0.713

2

General information on play

4

4

2.9

72.5

0.477

3

Therapeutic Play to prevent and manage fear and anxiety

20

20

15.05

75.25

2.103

Overall

30

30

22.95

76.5

2.696

 

 

Section 3: comparison of the knowledge level of Staff Nurses


Table 5: Overall and area-wise comparison of knowledge scores of staff nurses n = 60

Sl. No.

Knowledge aspects

Pre test

Post test

Mean Enhancement

t Value

Df

Inference

Mean

S D

Mean

S D

1

General information on fear and anxiety in children

3.73

1.401

5.0

0.713

1.26

6.118

59

S

2

General information on play

1.73

0.686

2.9

0.477

1.16

12.207

59

S

3

Therapeutic Play to prevent and manage fear and anxiety

9.27

2.59

15.05

2.103

5.78

14.093

59

S

Overall Knowledge

14.73

2.840

22.95

2.696

8.22

17.525

59

S

 


Section 4: Association between pretest knowledge of staff nurses and the selected demographic variables

The selected demographic variables such as age, gender, religion, professional qualification, area of working, experience and source of information were having significant association between the knowledge of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children were significant at 0.05 level.

 

CONCLUSION:

The focus of this study was to assess the effectiveness of Information Booklet on knowledge level of staff nurses regarding impact of play therapy on anxiety and fear of children at selected hospital Davangere. Pre experimental (one group pre test post test) design and evaluative approach was used in the study. The data was collected from 60 samples through non probability convenient sampling technique. The data collected was subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics in terms of frequencies, percentage and inferential statistics like chi square to find the association.

 

The above findings of the study stress the need for conducting awareness regarding play therapy staff nurses working in selected pediatric hospitals. The findings of the study also reveal that the knowledge of staff nurses regarding play therapy had significant association with their selected personal variables like age, gender, religion, professional qualification, area of working, experience, source of information and attendance of inservice education programme.

 

The data shows that maximum mean percentage obtained by the subjects in a post test is in the aspect of knowledge regarding general information on fear and anxiety in children (83.33%) followed by therapeutic play to prevent and manage fear and anxiety (75.25%) and least mean knowledge (72.5%) found in the aspect of general information on play. The overall knowledge scores of respondence were found to be 22.95 (76.5%) with standard deviation 2.696 shows improvement in the knowledge of staff nurses regarding the impact of play therapy in anxiety and fear of children.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS:

The following recommendations were made based on the results of the study.

·       A similar study can be replicated on large sample to generalize the findings.

·       A similar study can be conducted in a different setting.

·       A true experimental study can be conducted to assess the effectiveness of inservice education programme.

·       A comparative study can be conducted to assess the knowledge and attitude among staff nurses.

·       A study can be conducted to find out the practice of staff nurses towards the play therapy.

REFERENCES:

1.      Mosavi HS, Koolaee AK. Effectiveness of Client-centered Play Therapy on Fear and Anxiety in Preschool Children. J Comm Health. 2016; 3(4):1-5. Available from: http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/en-ch/article/view/15244

2.      Pajapati KK, Samprasad K, Doss JJ. A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Play Therapy on Anxiety among Hospitalized Children (6-12 Years), at Selected Hospital Rajkot. Int. J. Nur. Edu. and Research. 2019; 7(2): 218-20. Available from: https://ijneronline.com/AbstractView.aspx?PID=2019-7-2-18

3.      Sen S. A study to assess the effectiveness of play therapy on anxiety among hospitalized children. International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR). Aug 2017; Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.21474/IJAR01/5213

4.      Soniya AMS, Solomon RJ, Shini.  Effectiveness of Play Therapy on Anxiety among Hospitalized Preschool Children. Asian J. Nursing Education and Research. 2019; 9(2):193-6. Available from: http://ajner.com/AbstractView.aspx?PID=2019-9-2-8

5.      Francischinelli AGB, de Amorim Almeida F, Fernandes DMSO. Routine use of therapeutic play in the care of hospitalized children: nurses’ perceptions. Acta Paul Enferm. 2012; 25(1): 18–23. https://acta-ape.org/en/article/routine-use-of-therapeutic-play-in-the-care-of-hospitalized-children-nurses-perceptions/

 

 

Received on 17.08.2024         Revised on 16.09.2024

Accepted on 10.10.2024         Published on 28.11.2024

Available online on December 31, 2024

A and V Pub J. of Nursing and Medical Res. 2024;3(4):141-144.

DOI: 10.52711/jnmr.2024.32

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