The play functions for hospitalized child

Abstract

The present work aims to discuss the functions that the play can assume in the context of the child’s hospitalization. A systematic review was conducted through the search for scientific articles in Portuguese, published in virtual libraries: Portal de Periódicos CAPES, PEPSIC e SCIELO, using the following descriptors in a combined manner: child, hospitalization, play, toy library, development, child hospitalization and game. The inclusion criteria used in the articles’ selection were: to be available in full, to have the child as a target population, to be in Portuguese language and title, keywords and abstract be directly related to the subject studied. Met the criteria established 37 articles. The analysis of the articles led to the recognition of three great functions attributed to the child’s play in the hospital context: therapeutic, learning and recreational. It has also been identified an increase in scientific production on this subject in recent years, which proves the recognition and importance of the playing in this context.