Caixas de histórias como estratégia auxiliar do enfrentamento da hospitalização de crianças e adolescentes com câncer

Storytelling in hospital environments contributes to the reduction of tension and anxiety; it is, therefore, a possible strategy to cope with hospitalization of patients under cancer treatment. Objective: To identify and analyze the contributions of the program “Box of Stories” (storytelling program) in coping with hospitalization of children and adolescents. Methodological Procedures: It is a non-experimental, cross-sectional, descriptive,\udapplied research of quali-quantitative approach conducted in a pediatric oncology unit in the countryside of Sao Paulo state. Twenty children and adolescents ages 4 to 15 participated in the study. Data collection consisted of (1) pretest (indication on the scale of faces or verbal expression of one’s feeling at that moment); (2) record of the behaviors of children during the storytelling; and (3) posttest (indication on the scale of faces or verbal expression of one’s feeling after the storytelling). Results: The participants interacted with the people present during storytelling (interaction with undergraduate students of occupational therapy and with peers) as well as with material from the boxes (manipulation of objects and participation in the activity proposed), and demonstrated cognitive abilities (attention and imagination) and motivation (liveliness and curiosity about the stories). Nine participants presented significant changes in their emotional state after the storytelling (p=0.0111). Conclusions: The use of story boxes proved to be an important intervention in improving the way children and adolescents with cancer cope with\udhospitalization, restoring their playful universe and facilitating health recovery