National Taiwan University Children's Hospital is committed to provide the best healthcare for children, so we took the first step towards implementing child-friendly healthcare to facilitate strong support for children and families that face severe illness and heath challenges. Navigating the important new trends for advance pediatric medical and healthcare internationally, we started this clinical support services with many professionals together since 2011, which is the first one in Taiwan. It started with art therapy in pediatric cancer wards, and then gradually expand to various types of professionals in different clinical areas providing psychological and social support. We have been collaborating with many non-profit foundations for funding and resources. In 2018, the formal "Child-friendly Healthcare Clinical Program" was officially established under the National Taiwan University Children's Hospital to promote pediatric healthcare through the healing and growth of both physical and mental aspects, towards a more holistic, humane and child-friendly approach.

 

The Child-friendly Healthcare Team at National Taiwan University Children's Hospital uses a diverse range of professional services to meet the psychological and social needs of sick children, siblings, and their families while providing support and assistance to help children and families adapt to medical treatment and express their feelings.

 

The team members of have professional backgrounds and training, and have obtained relevant professional licenses domestically and internationally, to assist sick children and families in obtaining whole comprehensive physical and mental care and support. The team provides related services in the pediatric hematology-oncology ward, intensive care unit, operating room, and radiology department.

 

Child-friendly Healthcare goals

• Facilitate sick children and families in obtaining positive medical experiences
• Provide physical and mental support and adaptation centered on sick children, siblings, and their families,
• Collaborate with medical teams to provide holistic physical and mental care to sick children
• Provide opportunities for sick children to express their feelings, emotions and thoughts freely and interactively
• Collaborate with social worker, bedside teaching teacher, and clinical psychologist to provide age-appropriate developmental support
• Increase the inner strength, self-recovery (resiliency), and physical and mental balance of sick children
• Arrange physical and mental supportive activities needed for children's developmental stages
• Assist sick children and families in facing difficult medical experiences or treatments.

 

Child-friendly healthcare services

• Child Life Services

A Child Life Specialist assists children and their families throughout the medical process by using age-appropriate language, interaction, and tools to reduce anxiety and fear, regain a sense of control, increase compliance, and face medical needs with confidence. They play the roles as an essential communication bridge between medical personnel and sick children and families. The goal of a Child Life Specialist is to ensure that children and adolescents, along with their families, are not affected by various medical reasons or limitations that impact their psychological and daily lives, making the medical experience a positive one that contributes to their development.

 

• Art Therapy

The goal of art therapy is to help sick children, family members, and siblings express various potential psychological, emotional, stress, and thought issues through nonverbal artistic mediums and the creative process. Under the guidance of an art therapist, children can not only alleviate various discomforts and anxieties during hospitalization, but also adjust or express various complex emotions and feelings that arise due to medical treatment through the presentation of their artwork and dialogue.

 

• Music Therapy

Music therapy is an expressive musical experience provided by a music therapist based on the needs of a sick child. Through the interaction with the therapist, the child is assisted in achieving psychological, physiological, and spiritual goals. Music therapists use musical experiences such as instrument operation, music creation, and lyric discussions to help children adapt to the medical environment, provide psychological support, and provide emotional outlets.

 

• Dance Therapy

Dance therapy uses the child's body as a medium of expression, exploring inner psychological processes through physical movements, promoting physiological conditions, and integrating cognition, society, and emotion. Through dynamic movements, children can discover their inner intangible abilities, promoting both physical and mental health.

 

• Clown Doctors

Clown Doctors are a group of professionally trained clown actors who use fun games, music, and performing arts to create an interactive performance in hospital spaces, including children's wards. By spreading joy and laughter, Clown Doctors can reduce the emotional and pressure-related effects of medical treatment on children, healthcare personnel, and family members. Currently, the Red Nose Care Clown Association provides regular Clown Doctor professional services in our children's wards.

 

• Play Activities

Play is the way how children learn and explore the world, it is also a very important human right of the children. Play activities are designed to promote the well-being of children, including providing a safe, age-appropriate environment where they can express themselves, release their energy, and interact with others. These activities can also help to alleviate various physical and psychological issues that arise from hospitalization, such as social isolation and anxiety. At the same time, play can promote better growth and development for the children, and build up much healthier relationship with their families and other people.