When children play doctor, with dolls as patients

Inpatient children undergoing different medical treatments at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital. They are being trained to use medical equipment including syringes so that they don't get afraid while in the hospital. February 1, 2022. [Peter Ochieng, Standard]

Children fear hospitals and the attendant pain of treatment and injections — which sees most parents tightly holding their children at the sight of the syringe.

To dispel such fears, the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), in Eldoret has adopted ‘medical play’ which involves giving children medical items to play with, enabled them to express their feelings and hence cope with treatment.