Comunicare con il bambino malato: la preparazione all'intervento chirurgico e il ricovero in ospedale. Una rassegna della letteratura empirica

Abstract

- Through the analysis of the literature about the subject of hospitalization and surgery in paediatric field, the objective of this work is to individualize some effective technique of communication with child to reduce anxiety associated with medical process and surgery, and to identify main factors that affect the child's answer to this communication. The considered literature was found by data banks PsycInfo, Medline and Cochrane Library and includes empirical studies on the theme of child communication during hospitalization. The studies suggest that giving to a child some explanation with a language appropriated to the age could reduces the anxiety for an unfamiliar environment, helps him to elaborate the information on the illness and on the hospital and to cooperate with the treatments. A good communication could allow the child to manage worry and to activate some thought about threatening situation in advance, this permits to activate some defense mechanisms and some resources to face the illness. Nevertheless, some studies show how the thecniques to reduce the anxiety are not always useful to lower the stress. This could depend on the age, on different coping styles and on the individual difference of the response to the stress situation. The communication with child about the subject of hospitalization and surgery is historically considered from clinic and dynamic area, but remains object of a poor number of empirical studies. Academy education and vocational training are also limitated for the health worker that takes care of this kind of patients.