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Family Perspectives

Abstract

Hospitalization can be a distressing experience for children, often resulting in heightened anxiety and pain due to unfamiliar environments, procedures, and personnel. This literature review examines the effectiveness of Child Life Play Interventions—specifically Developmentally Supportive Play, Psychological Preparation Play, and Distraction Play—in reducing pediatric patients’ healthcare- related anxiety and pain. Developmentally supportive play provides children with familiar, age-appropriate activities that help maintain normalcy and routine, thereby reducing stress during extended hospital stays. Psychological preparation play uses role-playing and hands-on demonstrations to enhance children’s understanding of medical procedures, alleviating anxiety and decreasing perceived pain. Distraction play shifts children’s attention away from painful stimuli during acute procedures, using sensory engagement to mitigate discomfort. Collectively, these play-based interventions support children’s emotional and physical well-being, improve their immediate experiences with healthcare, and may prevent long-term aversions to medical care. This review highlights the need for broader implementation of play interventions and calls for further research to evaluate their effectiveness across developmental stages and diverse pediatric populations.

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