The playful as a tool for health promotion in the hospital environment

The aim of this study was to know the perception and knowledge of parents/companions of children hospitalized about play as a tool for health promotion in the hospital environment.This is a descriptive research with a qualitative approach, carried out at the Municipal Children's Hospital of Imperatriz between February 2019 and January 2020, with 15 parents/companions of children under 10 years of age who had been in the hospital for more than 48 hours.We excluded companions who were not part of the daily contact with the child and who presented alterations in emotional state. Initially, the participants were probed about their participation in the research, so health promotion activities were carried out with the children and, later, the parents/companions were asked about the efficacy of the method used.The interview was recorded and later transcribed. After the analysis, the following categories emerged: Playful and health promotion; Communication and play; Notoriety of health and play promotion in the hospital environment.It was concluded that the use of play in health promotion is of paramount importance in the hospital environment, as it helps in understanding the issues related to the health issue when using play as a form of communication between the professional and the hospitalized child.