The purpose of this article is to analyze the meaning of the promotion of play in child hospitalization settings for health professionals working with such proposal. The method is characterized by a qualitative approach, based on the analysis of the semi-structured interviews with 33 health professionals, of three different hospitals. The promotion of play in these health professional's point of view can be an important tool when working with issues such as: integral attention; adherence to treatment; the establishment of facilitating communication channels amongst health professionals, children and their parents; the enforcement of child rights; and finally, the re-significance of the disease by individuals. The findings facilitated the discussions involving the promotion of play as a collective health action. In conclusion, it was found that the promotion of play in pediatric hospital settings, can contribute to the re-signification of traditional intervention models and child hospitalization.
Play and playthings; Child hospitalized; Health promotion