The child and the hospitalization

Abstract

Objetive: identifying what are the needs of these children when they are hospitalized as human growth and development, aiming to identify the nurse’s performing on the children’s hospitalization process, taking into account the emotional difficulties experienced by them. Methods: this study is exploratory, descriptive, bibliographic research was conducted with a qualitative approach, held in the Library of Health (LILACS and BDENF). After the data collection, an exploratory, selective, critical reading and a thematic analysis were performed. Results: emerging the following categories: Children’s emotional difficulties on the hospitalization process and the importance of nurse’s performing in order to decrease the effects caused by hospitalization. Conclusion: we conclude that the hospitalization and the consequents procedures constitute unpleasant and painful experiences to the children, causing fear, anguish, loneliness, sadness, etc. By having scarce and immature emotional resources, children’s response to these situations may be negative and traumatic. Therefore, the nurse with the team must value the humanized care, according to children’s emotional needs and not only on the technical procedure, creating mechanisms that may ease that suffering, this way, playful insertion, the play and family presence join as effective instruments in order to decrease the stress and make the hospitalization less traumatic.