Se mig, hör mig, säg mig! : En litteraturstudie om barns upplevelse av att vara patient på sjukhus

Background: For most children, being hospitalized is a whole new experience. The care should be safe and meet the children’s needs. In hospital care, children are a large group of patients. It’s important for them to be involved in decisions regarding their care and to get proper information. Working as a nurse, there’s a high possibility to meet with children being ill. In order to get more knowledge about how children experience their hospital stay this study was conducted.Aim: The aim of the study was to describe children’s experiences of being a patient in hospital.Method: The method used was a literature study, based on qualitative research. Eight articles from the databases Cinahl and PsycInfo read, reviewed and analyzed according to the model for analysis of qualitative studies made by Friberg.Results: Four themes and eleven sub themes were found. Children’s experiences of hospital care revolved around the hospital environment, their emotions, not being in control and the nursing staff.Conclusion: The result shows that children’s different experiences related to their hospital stay often is affected by the ability to have their parents close, to have the opportunity to play and to get the proper information from caring health professionals. Children describe both positive and negative experiences