Abstract

Hospital personnel are becoming more aware of the fact that hospitalization is traumatic to the emotional life of the young child. Since eating habits and emotions are so closely allied, it is probable that the young child's eating pattern will be affected during hospitalization. The purpose of this study was to determine the reaction of children between the ages of one through four to food during the first three days of hospitalization at the White Memorial Hospital. The method chosen to obtain this information was the descriptive survey. The tools used were a checklist for the researcher to record her observations of the amount of food eaten and her impression of the subject's response to food, and a questionnaire for the subject's parents to provide information about the child's normal eating pattern. The subjects were twenty-one children aged one to four, inclusive, hospitalized on the pediatric unit of the White Memorial Hospital. The children's reactions to food were analyzed according to age, day of hospitalization, and difference between home and hospital response to food. There was no significant difference in reaction to food between age groups. No difference was found in reaction to food on the various days of hospitalization. The response of the subjects to food at home was 1.5 points on a four-point scale better than that in the hospital. This showed that while there was no apparent difference in young children's reactions to food during different days of their early period of hospitalization and no difference in ages one through four, that most children did respond better to food at home than they did in the hospital. The small number of subjects made interpretation suggestive rather than definitive.

LLU Discipline

Nursing

Department

Nursing

School

Graduate School

First Advisor

Betty J. Trubey

Second Advisor

Winifred M. Edwards

Third Advisor

Julia B. Swarner

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Degree Level

M.S.

Year Degree Awarded

1964

Date (Title Page)

5-1964

Language

English

Library of Congress/MESH Subject Headings

Child; Hospitalized Food

Type

Thesis

Page Count

viii; 60

Digital Format

PDF

Digital Publisher

Loma Linda University Libraries

Usage Rights

This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has granted Loma Linda University a limited, non-exclusive right to make this publication available to the public. The author retains all other copyrights.

Collection

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Collection Website

http://scholarsrepository.llu.edu/etd/

Repository

Loma Linda University. Del E. Webb Memorial Library. University Archives

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