Research Brief: Children in Hospital

Large numbers of children, sometimes very young children, are admitted to our hospitals each year. Many stay for only short periods and while they may show disturbed behaviour upon returning home particularly if they are under 5 years - it appears to be widely accepted that if the length of stay is under a week it is unlikely to have any lasting repercussions. Stacey, for example, found that the majority of children she studied recovered within 6 months.