Television watching at Greek paediatric hospitals.
OBJECTIVE
The study investigated the television watching habits of children in hospital compared with those at home and the factors which influence them.


METHODS
A random sample of 546 school aged children hospitalized in paediatric hospitals (2) in Athens (Greece) was studied.


RESULTS
Children's television watching time in the hospital was found to be higher compared to that at home. The characteristics which influence this result are the duration of hospitalization, the television rent, who does the programme selection and the frequency of visits (p<0.001 for all tests).


CONCLUSIONS
Children especially in hospitals should watch television accompanied by their parents/caregivers who should help them to decode the received messages, check the quality of the programmes and intervene in the time spent watching television.
Matziou
Vasiliki
V
Faculty of Nursing, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 123 Papadiamadopoulou Street, 11527 Athens, Greece.
Zachos
Ioannis
I
Kletsiou
Heleni
H
Triantafyllidou
Antigoni
A
Tsoumakas
Constantinos
C
D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D005260:Female; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D013690:Television / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*