Gestão do estado emocional da criança (dos 6 aos 8 anos) através da actividade de brincar: analisando o cuidado de enfermagem em contexto de internamento de pediatria*

Abstract

This study uses a qualitative approach, seeks to understand how the act of playing integrated in the nursing practice can be used to manage the emotional state of the child experiencing a hospitalization/surgery. This study is based on the reflection on practice, using the field diary (to describe and analyze the nursing practice associated with the phenomenon under study), an activity included in an investigative process (ability to use the research process in its various stages). The data collection was performed in a paediatric surgical unit of a paediatric hospital in Lisbon from April to June 2008, from the care interactions of 9 children aged between 6 and 8 years.The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique, which revealed a process of managing the emotional state of the child through the activity of playing which involves actions/interactions: to promote adaptive confrontation,
promote relaxation, increase the sense of control, promote the feeling of safety, facilitating the approach, promoting emotional expression, minimizing the feeling of loneliness, promoting distraction and demystify the fears.It is concluded that the activity of playing is an essential therapeutic tool in paediatric nursing, as it reveals so far to be a way to promote the well-being of children, and is therefore suggestive to contribute to therapeutic outcomes. In fact, if used intentionally and systematically, it promotes the adaptation and learning of children in a positive experience of hospitalization/surgery.