Publications - Educational Play Therapy

Presentations
Papers
Brochures
Articles

Presentations

Choosing the right words – how do we know what to say and when to say it when preparing children for medical procedures.
Presenter - Leanne Hallowell
Presented at - AAHPS Conference, Sydney Australia, October 2005

Preparing Children For Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PDF)
Presenters - Shari Stewart and Leanne Hallowell
Presented at - ISMRM - SMRT Conference, Seattle Washington USA, May 2006. Winner of the 3rd place award in the category of Clinical Focus Proffered Paper.

Comfort Kids (PDF 11KB)
Presenters - Leanne Hallowell and Lisa Takacs
Presented at - Hospital Play Specialists Association of Aotearoa/New Zealand, 4th Pacific Rim Conference, New Zealand, 28-30 March, 2008

Managing Procedural Pain with CF Patients
A New Frontier - Preparing children for Magnetic Resonance Imaging
What matters in research in Hospital Play Speciality. "Not all that can be counted counts, and not all that counts can be counted" - Albert Einstein.
Presenter - Leanne Hallowell
Presented at - Australian Association of Hosptial Play Specialists, 5th Biennial Conference - Play by the Sea. 12-13 March 2009.
Abstract
Research in health care is seen as the norm, but for those who work in Hospital Play Specialities, the word appears to instil fear and is left to engagement by a few. Research can ve the way to prove that the work engaged in does make a difference to the children and fmilies we wrok with, and can support program funding and extension. This paper looks at ways that hospital play specialists can engage in ethical research. It focuses on how to select appropraite research projects, working through the system of ethics and funding, with emphasis on the importance of publication. Case studeis and a review of research conducted within the filed will be used to explore what counts in research in hosptial play speciality and how we may look to 'count what needs to be counted'.
“But how should I introduce you?” - The long and winding road of a formalised Pre Admission Clinic.
Presenter - Julie London
Presented at - Australian Association of Hosptial Play Specialists, 5th Biennial Conference - Play by the Sea. 12-13 March 2009.
Abstract
This presentation involves a discussion of the journey of the development and infancy of a pre admission clinic for outpatients at Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne. The session is given from an Educational Play Therapist’s perspective, and discusses some of the challenges, barriers and successes of incorporating an existing play therapy program into a newer, more formalised, multi-disciplinary framework.
With the clinic approaching the end of its second year of operation, a retrospective view of changing attitudes and a broadening understanding of the integral role of Educational Play Therapy involvement in the preparation of children and their families for surgery, hospital admission and other treatments, are explored. The role of preparation in empowering the child and family to voice feelings, concerns and understanding of the process, and attempts to set up a proactive individualised framework for success will also be discussed.

Papers

London, J., (2008), Planning for positive outcomes: Personalised pre-admission preparation for children coming to hospital. Childrenz Issues 12 (1), 20-33.

Abstract
A visit to hospital and any accompanying treatments/surgery can be a daunting experience for children, as well as for the broader family unit. Although there have been numerous studies on minimising the impact of hospitalisation on children and their family, much of the work has focused on the child as a hospital inpatient. This article explores the themes of body image and psychosocial well-being in the context of a programme focused on thorough preparation of children for surgical or medical interventions. Prior to admission the child, parent/s and educational play therapist develop the programme together. The individualised nature of the preparation gives the child and family nonthreatening and meaningful information. The format, time frame, and tools agreed upon enable other relevant community agencies (for example, the child's school) to be involved also- not only in understanding what the child will experience, but also by having tangible tools to assist in preparing the child for the experience. The article outlines three case studies which collectively exemplify the process, highlight specific tools and illustrate their use in preparing the child not only for the intervention, but also understanding the impact of the intervention on the child’s body and body image.

Hallowell, L.M., Stewart, S.E., de Amorim e Silva, C.T., Ditchfield, M.R., (2008), Reviewing the process of preparing children for MRI. Pediatric Radiology 38 (3), 271-279

Background MRI is a common medical imaging investigation. Patients, including young children, can be required to keep still for up to 60 min for the study to be completed successfully. Children often find the confined space, noise, need to lie still and possibility of intravenous administration of contrast agent anxiety-provoking and sometimes so distressing that they are unable to cope and require general anaesthesia.
Objective A practice MRI intervention was introduced a The Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The program is conducted by educational play therapists in conjunction with the Department of Medical Imaging. This study explored the effectiveness of this intervention.
Materials and methods The intervention was conducted in a practice MRI unit devoid of magnets. Data were collected as a clinical audit with respect to age, gender, times of scans position in bore, diagnostic scans and movement artefact. Epidata and Stata were used to analyse the data.
Results A total of 291 children were included; their ages ranged from 3years 7 months to 17 years (mean 7.9years), and 48.8% were male. Of the 291 children, 218 (74.9%) were considered a pass at practice, 35 (12%) were considered borderline pass, and diagnostic images wee obtained from 218 (96%) of those children who went onto a clinical MRI.
Conclusion We conclude that practice MRI intervention facilitated by educational play therapists is a useful intervention in supporting children to cope with MRI without general anaesthesia.

This paper was awarded the Walter Berdon Award for outstanding Basic Clinical Paper appearing in Pediatric Radiology in 2008.

de Amorim e Silva, C.T., Mackenzie, A., Hallowell, L.M., Stewart, S.E., Ditchfield, M.R., (2006), Practice MRI: Reducing the need for sedation and general anaesthesia in children undergoing MRI. Australian Radiology 50, 319-323

Summary
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a practice magnetic resonance unit, in preparing children to undergo magnetic resonance procedures without general anaesthesia (GA) or sedation. The records of children who attended the practice MRI between February 2002 and April 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. Each record was assessed as to whether the child had passed or failed the practice MRI intervention. Those children who were considered to have passed and were proceeded to a clinical non-GA MRI had the report of the clinical scan reviewed. If the scan had been reported as non-diagnostic because of movement artefact it was classified as a failed scan, otherwise it was considered a pass. One hundred and thirty-four children undertook a practice MRI (age range 4.1–16.1 years, median age 7.7 years, 47% boys) and 120/134 (90%) passed the practice session. In all, 117/120 (98%) subsequently had a clinical non-GA MRI and 110/117 (94%) passed (median age 7.8 years, 47% boys). Preparation is a safe and effective method to reduce the need for sedation and GA in children undergoing a clinical MRI scan. It provides a positive medical experience for children, parents and staff, and results in cost savings for the hospital.

Brochures

Understanding your Baby
Hospital and Home Again (PDF 1.03 MB)
Nuclear Medicine Procedures (PDF 115 KB)
Preparation for CT Procedures (PDF 100 KB)
Preparation for Fluoroscopy Procedures (PDF 100 KB)

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Articles

World Of Networks Open To Nurse Doing Doctoral Studies. Nursing Review, February 2008, (page 16)

The University of Melbourne

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute