Abstract:

Introduction: Anxiety is one of the most common reactions to stressors and hospitalized   children confront it and playing is a priority care to reduce stress.

Objective: The present study was conducted to determine the effect of playing on the level of anxiety in school- age children hospitalized in educational pediatric centers in Rasht city.

Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study conducted on 110 hospitalized school- age children. These children were randomized into two groups according to their characteristics and number of room they were hospitalized.

For data collection, two questionnaires were used which included demographic information and espielberger`s anxiety scale and also a vital sign check list was used. The methodology included that after completing the questionnaires send to play room and played for half an hour. But for control group no intervention was done. After half an hour play, the experiment group returned to their beds in their rooms and the anxiety questionnaire and check list were done again.

Results: Findings indicated that play significantly decreased anxiety level in hospitalized children and T-test showed significant difference between the experiment and control group (p<0.0001).

Conclusion: According to the above findings, it can be said that play is a proper method of coping with anxiety, physical and mental health, and confrontating the difficulty of illness and hospitalization.

Key words: Anxiety, Hospitalized Child, Play therapy