HEALTH AND ILLNESS: THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS OF HOSPITALIZED CHILDREN AND THEIR ACCOMPANYING MOTHERS

Authors

  • Ligia A. Marrach
  • Edna Maria P. Kahhle

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.39781

Keywords:

infant hospitalization, pediatric nursery, maternal care, children’s concepts of health and illness.

Abstract

The infant’s reactions to the novelty of the physical and social stimulation that hospitalization provides can be of withdrawal and isolation; on the other hand, hospitalization may stimulate social interaction, leading the infant to explore and to communicate with other patients and adults (Zannon, 1981). A study was carried out aiming at identifying what the hospitalized child and her accompanying mother think and feel in relation to the experience of health and illness, and at understanding the meaning of these experiences in a pediatric nursery. 66 subjects participated in this research: 33 hospitalized children in the 6 to 12 years age group
and 33 accompanying mothers from the pediatric nursery of a general hospital. The instrument used was the drawing of three elements - flower, animal and person - in two situations: health
and sickness, and what one does when sick. Health and illness were associated with body conditions, focusing on form, with possibilities and restrictions to physical activity and with
distinct feelings resulting from such experiences. When facing sickness, the most frequent attitude was the search for medical assistance. The concrete experience of the child in a hospital may not be, sometimes, in accordance with the negative character attributed to the child’s permanence there. On the contrary, it may become a productive and positive experience for the child. The appropriation of this kind of experience permits a more integrated assistance on the part of the pediatric staff.

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Author Biographies

  • Ligia A. Marrach
    Mestre em Psicologia Clínica pela PUC-SP; Psicóloga do Serviço de Saúde Mental do Hospital Municipal Infantil Menino Jesus.
  • Edna Maria P. Kahhle
    Doutora em Psicologia Experimental pela USP; Professora e Pesquisadora do Núcleo de Psicossomática e Psicologia Hospitalar
    do Programa de Estudos Pós-graduados em Psicologia Clínica pela PUC-SP.

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Published

2003-12-19

Issue

Vol. 13 No. 2 (2003)

Section

Original Research

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