Playing in the hospital and the possibilities of family participation: a review of brazilian literature

INTRODUCTION:playing is widely addressed in Occupational Therapy and in the case of hospi-talized children, it will play a central role in interventions. From the perspective of family-centered practices, the child and his/her family must be understood as a unit of care, representing a paradigm shift in care practices. OBJECTIVE: to identify in Brazilian scientific litera-ture how play is understood and how it develops in the practices of occupational therapists in the hospital setting, including the possibilities of family participation in play within this con-text. METHODOLOGICAL PROCEDURES: mapping review in the SciELO library - Scientific Elec-tronic Library Online and in Brazilian journals in the area, in an open period. RESULTS: 31 articles were included and the thematic content analysis of the material collected resulted in five thematic axes: (1) Playing as an end in itself; (2) Playing as a resource or strategy; (3) Limita-tions in the hospitalized child's play; (4) The assisted family; (5) The family as an active participant. CONCLUSIONS: the small number of works that highlight the involvement of the family, more specifically, in the practice of occupational therapist related to play, challenges occupational therapists in the hospital context to rethink their practices, in order to contemplate the family as a care unit.