Peer-reviewed article
Assessment of Play Therapy Services Available to Children Under Five Years in Hospitals in Plateau State
Katniyon Henry David, Zipporah Pewat Duguryil, Julie Gwakzing Nimyel, Gotom Wasen ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study assessed the availability of play therapy services for children under five in hospitals across Plateau State, Nigeria. Researchers surveyed secondary and tertiary hospitals across three geopolitical zones using a validated assessment scale. The findings showed that few hospitals offer play therapy services, with rural hospitals providing significantly fewer services than urban ones, and hospitals facing challenges including lack of funding, physical space, and trained personnel.
Key points
- Few hospitals in Plateau State have play therapy services for children under five years
- Hospitals face challenges including lack of funds, spaces, and personnel to provide play therapy
- Rural hospitals have fewer play therapy services compared to urban hospitals
- The Childhood Hospital Play Services Assessment Scale had a reliability coefficient of 0.89
- Study recommends awareness campaigns to educate healthcare professionals, parents, and communities about play therapy benefits
Limitations
This is a descriptive survey assessing service availability rather than evaluating the effectiveness of play therapy interventions. The study does not measure whether play therapy, when available, actually improves child development outcomes.
Abstract
This study investigated the availability play therapy services in promoting nurturing care of early child development of under-five children visiting hospitals in Plateau state. The population for the study included all secondary and tertiary hospitals available in Plateau state. Stratified sampling was used to select hospitals each from the three geo political zones in Plateau State. Two local governments were selected from the three zones in the state. The descriptive survey design was used for the study. The instrument Childhood Hospital Play Services Assessment Scale was used. Reliability coefficient was determined to be 0.89. Data was collected over a period of six weeks. Two research assistants were used for the study. Data collected was analysed and results of the findings showed that few hospitals have play therapy service for children under age five in Plateau. Also, hospitals were found to face challenges lack of funds spaces and personnel to handle play therapy for children. It was also discovered that rural hospitals had fewer play therapy services compared to urban hospitals. It was recommended amongst others that Plateau State hospitals should prioritize awareness campaigns to educate healthcare professionals, parents, and the community about the importance and benefits of play therapy for children’s development, for children under five years.