Hospital preparation: the children's story

This paper reports on the self-identification of hospital preparation learning needs of rural children, both before and after their hospital experience. Children who were scheduled for a hospital admission were interviewed in their home settings 1 to 2 weeks before their hospital admissions. The interviews were replicated 1 week after discharge from the hospital. Changes in knowledge acquisition and learning needs from the pre-hospital to the post-hospital state were examined. The study identifies from the child's perspective the type of information and program delivery method most appropriate to meeting the psychosocial needs of children related to a planned hospital stay.