Addressing mental health improves care outcomes
Specialists address children’s psych needs
It’s not just child’s play. Games are a useful tool that child life specialists at Kaiser Permanente facilities in northern California use to help children cope with the stress, fear, and even trauma associated with health care. The tool often reduces lengths of stay in the process.
"When children are hospitalized, they lose control over their environment and need ways to cope," says Patricia Shew, MA, CLS, child life specialist at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco campus. "There was one incident where a young leukemia patient was having difficulty taking her medication. I worked with her using a doll. We first gave the medication to the doll and then to her. It reassured her. A lot of clues about a child’s anxieties come out during medical play. I use actual medical equipment such as syringes, stethoscopes, and blood pressure cuffs. We try the procedure out on the doll and then on the child."
Child life specialists participate in morning rounds and address any psychosocial issues raised by physicians, nurses, and social workers. "I try to introduce myself to every child admitted to the hospital and the parents, if they are available," Shew says. "I try to focus on adolescents. Many nurses just treat adolescents like young adults and ignore them."
Helping children adjust to medical procedures has benefits that extend beyond easing a child’s anxiety. In the mid-80s, a study conducted by researchers in Phoenix found that a child life program speeds and enhances a child’s surgical recovery. "I find that’s true for our chronically ill children, too," she says. "For example, with our oncology patients, I develop a relationship with them, and I’m able to identify their stress points. We’re a teaching hospital, we get new residents every month who aren’t familiar with these children. I can give the interns information that helps them work with the child."
It also helps the child to see a familiar face. "I reassure the child that I’ll be there to help, and we’ll get through this course of treatment the same way we did before," Shew says. "If I can gain their trust and ease their fears, I also can gain their cooperation with treatments."
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