Psychological Complications of Child Hospitalization

Abstract

Introduction: The child is in constant physical, physiological and psychological training due to the experiences that arise during growth and that is why when he/she must be subjected to medical procedures, diagnosis, different treatments and perhaps surgical interventions, he/she reaches stress levels leading to the development of short- and long-term psychological alterations.  Objective: To define psychological disorders during hospital stay in children. Methodology: A search of the literature published in English and Spanish in the last 5 years in MEDLINE and PubMed was carried out using keywords such as: pediatric hospitalization, hospitalized children, psychological distress in children, psychological disturbances in children, psychological disturbances in hospitalization, the information was collected including all the articles related to the pediatric population, making summaries for analysis and subsequent preparation of this research work.  Discussion: Illness in childhood can have important repercussions on psychosocial development and its effects are even more noticeable when the child requires hospitalization, due to separation from his environment, from his family, actions that trigger states of anxiety, depression, sadness, personality changes, lack of cooperation, fear, sleep disturbance during his hospital stay, and even after discharge.  Conclusions: When a pediatric patient requires hospitalization their treatment should be multidisciplinary with intervention of: Pediatrician, Psychologist, Nursing staff and parents, who together must act in a synchronized manner, so that the child accepts and adapts psychologically during his hospitalization. In addition, it is necessary to implement other types of alternative treatments such as reading, play therapy, laughter therapy and coadjuvant therapy with animals such as dogs and goldfish used in several countries of the world with remarkable results, since they reduce the degree of anxiety, the time of hospitalization, with excellent biological, psychological and social recovery