A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Therapeutic Play on the Level of Anxiety Among Hospitalized Children Between 3 to 6 years in Stanley Hospital, Chennai 2010–2011

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of therapeutic play on the level of anxiety among hospitalized children between 3 to 6 years by comparing the pre- and posttest score.
Methods and Materials: The study was conducted by adopting a one group pretest–posttest research design. The sample size was sixty children between 3 to 6 years who fulfilled the inclusive criteria and they were selected by convenient sampling technique. During pretest the required data were collected by using the Modified Achen Bach child behavior observation checklist. Therapeutic play was given to the child for 2 hours on each day for 3 days. After the intervention completes posttest was conducted by using the same observation checklist.
Results: The analysis revealed that there was marked decrease in the mean value from 43.93 in the pretest level to 31.86 in the posttest level of anxiety. The standard deviation is increased from 7.57 in pretest to 17.71 in posttest. The ‘t’ value at 18.47 is highly significant at p<0.001 level.
Conclusion: This study showed that there was significant decrease in the posttest level of anxiety among hospitalized children between 3 to 6 years. Therefore therapeutic play can be used as a safe and effective tool, which helps in reducing anxiety.