The Effect of Play on Pain and Anxiety in Children in the Field of Nursing: A Systematic Review

Problem: The role of play in the reduction of anxiety and pain and in the improvement of behaviours and overall wellbeing in children in the field of nursing care in hospital settings.

Eligibility criteria: Studies published during the period 2014-2019 including original articles in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Databases consulted: SCOPUS, MEDLINE/PubMed, WoS, and CUIDEN (Nursing database in Spanish).

Sample: Seventeen relevant records were selected. After critical reading using the CASPe (Critical Appraisal Skills Programme in Spanish) instrument, 7 articles were rejected and 10 were finally selected.

Results: Each of eight studies showed significant evidence for the role of therapeutic play in the reduction of anxiety and pain and in the overall wellbeing of paediatric patients.

Implications: This review aimed to critically assess and synthesize the existing empirical evidence on the contributions of therapeutic play interventions for reducing anxiety, pain and improving the overall wellbeing of paediatric patients.

Conclusions: Based on these findings, it may be safe to say that therapeutic play interventions are effective in reducing the negative emotional manifestations of children, decreasing preoperative anxiety and pain, improving compliance with the induction of anaesthesia and reducing anxiety and postoperative pain. There is also evidence that dramatic puppetry is an effective preoperative care and preparation strategy for reducing anxiety in children undergoing surgery.