The best of hospitalization: contributions of playing to cope with chemotherapy

Objective: chemotherapy is frequently used in childhood cancer treatment and, although effective, it causes collateral effects and requires the restructuring of children’s daily lives. The aim of this study is to understand the play as a strategy to cope with the chemotherapy treatment in children. Method: this is an exploratory study with qualitative data analysis. Participants were 10 children with cancer between 7 and 12 years old, undergoing chemotherapy and hospitalized. Semistructured interviews were held, using puppets as a resource to facilitate the communication. In the data analysis, with an inductive approach, the importance of play as a facilitator of the chemotherapy coping was highlighted. Results: the children referred to the relevance of playing as a resource against idle time and highlighted the importance of a space to play, adapted to the treatment needs, within the hospital environment. The activities of the occupational therapist and of volunteers characterized as clowns was cited as differential in this context. Final Considerations: the importance of hospital administrations’ investment in play spaces and materials is underlined, as well as the hiring of qualified staff to facilitate the hospitalized children’s playing.