The Importance of Play for Children with Cancer in the Perception of Caregivers, in a Reference Hospital in the City of Belém, Pará State, Brazil

Abstract

Nursing care in Pediatric Oncology has specialized and changing over time and among the
possible strategies used by children to cope with stressful conditions is playing, resource used
by both the child and the professionals from the hospital to deal with adversity hospitalization.
The main objective of this study is to find the perception of caregivers / family members about
the importance of play for children with cancer. This is a descriptive qualitative research was the location of the pediatric oncology Ophir Loyola Hospital of the subjects were 20 caregivers
of children aged 5 to 10 years. Data were collected using a semistructured questionnaire
previously formulated. Data were grouped into CATEGORY I - The games are important for
the treatment of children with cancer, divided into subcategories II: I - Improves esteem of the
child, II - revives and strengthens the child to accept treatment; CATEGORY II - involvement
of children in play during oncological treatment; CATEGORY III - the involvement of carers /
relatives in games with children with cancer to treatment. According to the results obtained
from the caregivers’ perception, the play has a great importance in the lives of children, regardless of their health framework, with even greater value when your child is sick, it brings
benefits both physically and emotionally so there is a greater acceptance of treatment