A leitura como recurso de ludoterapia durante o tratamento contra o câncer

Abstract

Cancer is considered the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in Brazil, with leukemia being the most prevalent. A cancer diagnosis impacts the lives of children and their families due to the sudden hospitalization, an environment with unfamiliar people, and an unfriendly environment, along with the disruption of routine and separation from school and friends—all factors that contribute to the child's suffering. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies, such as play therapy, capable of alleviating children's suffering and bringing them closer to healthcare professionals. This article aims to characterize the benefits of play therapy through reading in the lives of children with cancer during hospital treatment. Method: An integrative literature review of articles published between 2018 and 2023 in Portuguese, English, and Spanish. Research articles available in full that answered the following question were included: "What are the benefits of reading as a playful strategy in the care of hospitalized children, especially those undergoing cancer treatment?" Results: There is a need to adapt the hospital environment through strategies such as play therapy through reading and humanized care to alleviate children's suffering during hospitalization. It was concluded that playful activities involving reading for children and adolescents as a play therapy strategy encourage children to express their feelings and project them onto characters, thus helping to alleviate psycho-emotional suffering and pain, in addition to bringing the child closer to the healthcare professional, promoting their recovery.