Play and the young hospitalized patient

As a result of continuous and oftentimes dramatic improvements in medicine during the past several decades, the prospects of restoring a hospitalized pediatric patient to the highest possible level of physical well-being are better than ever before. Attending to the emotional vulnerability to which young hospitalized children are susceptible is only now receiving the attention it deserves. Attention is as important to preventing and treating psychological morbidity as is treating physiological disorders. One of Britain's most eminent professors of pediatric medicine has asserted that the provision of play is one of the top priorities in providing for a sick child's recovery and well-being [Brimble-combe, 1980]. In this article, the importance of play for the pediatric patient is described, and considerations associated with the successful implementation of play intervention for children in hospitals are advanced.