Play In Healthcare

The importance of play in children’s health and care services, both as a form of therapy and as a distraction, is often overlooked. This unique text promotes developmentally appropriate provision within healthcare settings for children and young people and provides an introduction to the underpinning knowledge and skills. Covering core content – such as the role of play in child development, relevant anatomy and physiology, the concept of resilience, health promotion, developing appropriate provision and working in diverse healthcare settings – each chapter: makes links with the NHS Knowledge and Skills Framework and the Children’s Workforce’s Common Core of Skills and Knowledge begins with an overview of the chapter objectives contains a variety of activities such as reflective exercises, case studies and practical tasks that will promote both skills and knowledge needed in the workplace. concludes with a selection of additional useful resources and further reading suggestions. Designed for all healthcare professionals who work with children and young people, including those studying to become health play specialists and children’s nurses, this text provides practical examples of how all members of the multidisciplinary team can help to support children’s play.

PLAY. We all do it: wordplay, love play, role-play; we play cards, play sport, play the fool, and play around. And that’s just the grown-ups! It features in every aspect of our lives, whether we call it by that or another name. We all do it, but why do we do it? What does it mean to play and what, if any, difference does it make to our lives? Most crucially, and central to the theme of this book, is the question, ‘Does play have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing, and consequently a role in modern healthcare delivery?’ The contributors to this book provide a comprehensive overview of how play and play-based activities can be used throughout the adult lifespan to promote health and wellbeing within the context of healthcare service delivery for patients, their families and communities, and for the staff involved in their care. Responding to current global health concerns such as obesity, coronary heart disease, dementia and mental health, the book argues that play and playfulness offer a means of protection, promotion and recovery of positive health and wellbeing. The human tendency for play and playfulness as essential to personal growth and development lie at the heart of the discussion. This book will be of interest to all those working in health or social care settings, including nursing, social work and allied health students and professionals and those working within the therapeutic disciplines of art therapy, music therapy, and recreation alliances.

Play for Sick Children offers a unique insight into the crucial work of the play specialist. It examines the repercussions of being ill and receiving treatment experienced by children and their families, and highlights the importance of receiving quality play opportunities to counter these negative effects. The author proposes that play should be a high priority for those working in hospitals and other healthcare settings, and challenges other professionals to acknowledge, understand, accept and value the play specialist's role within the multidisciplinary team. The book explores the history of play in hospital, outlines the basic techniques and practical approaches used in working with sick children and young people, and identifies and discusses key theoretical and practical elements of the ever-changing role of the play specialist. This all-encompassing resource will be of great value to the ever growing and dedicated community of professionals who provide play, information and emotional support for sick children and their families.

The role of play in human and animal development is well established, and its educational and therapeutic value is widely supported in the literature. This innovative book extends the play debate by assembling and examining the many pieces of the play puzzle from the perspective of public health. It tackles the dual aspects of art and science which inform both play theory and public health policy, and advocates for a ‘playful’ pursuit of public health, through the integration of evidence from parallel scientific and creative endeavors. Drawing on international research evidence, the book addresses some of the major public health concerns of the 21st century – obesity, inactivity, loneliness and mental health – advocating for creative solutions to social disparities in health and wellbeing. From attachment at the start of life to detachment at life’s ending, in the home and in the workplace, and across virtual and physical environments, play is presented as vital to the creation of a new ‘culture of health’. This book represents a valuable resource for students, academics, practitioners and policy-makers across a range of fields of interest including play, health, the creative arts and digital and environmental design.

With advances in technologies and revolutions in patient, trainee, and public expectations, the global healthcare sector is increasingly turning to serious games to solve problems. Serious games are applications with serious purposes, developed using computer game technologies more often associated with entertainment. Serious Games for Healthcare: Applications and Implications will introduce the development and application of game technologies for health-related serious games. Further, it provides cutting-edge academic research and industry updates which will inform readers about the current and future advances in the area. Encapsulating the knowledge of commercial and noncommercial researchers, developers, and practitioners in a single volume will benefit not only the research and development community within this field, but could also serve public health interests by improving awareness and outcomes.

Business intelligence supports managers in enterprises to make informed business decisions in various levels and domains such as in healthcare. These technologies can handle large structured and unstructured data (big data) in the healthcare industry. Because of the complex nature of healthcare data and the significant impact of healthcare data analysis, it is important to understand both the theories and practices of business intelligence in healthcare. Theory and Practice of Business Intelligence in Healthcare is a collection of innovative research that introduces data mining, modeling, and analytic techniques to health and healthcare data; articulates the value of big volumes of data to health and healthcare; evaluates business intelligence tools; and explores business intelligence use and applications in healthcare. While highlighting topics including digital health, operations intelligence, and patient empowerment, this book is ideally designed for healthcare professionals, IT consultants, hospital directors, data management staff, data analysts, hospital administrators, executives, managers, academicians, students, and researchers seeking current research on the digitization of health records and health systems integration.

The role of humour, laughter and play in healthcare and wellbeing is a hot topic. Smiles are Everywhere: Integrating clown-play into healthcare practice is a practical handbook aimed primarily at healthcare professionals and those working in healthcare settings who wish to bring play and humour into their work. Drawing together the authors’ considerable experience in practice, research and training in the use of humour in healthcare settings, this book works to bring theory into practice in a simple, user-friendly manner. Central to Smiles are Everywhere is the understanding that healthcare professionals are striving to deliver patient-centred care and that the activities suggested can be integrated into existing methods of care delivery. The book includes: A rationale for why and where laughter and play are beneficial in healthcare settings Guidelines for integrating clown-plays into your own practice Advice on strategies and approaches More than fifty clearly laid out activities and ideas developed and adapted by the authors. Ideal for healthcare professionals as well as anyone working in a healthcare setting, the ideas presented here can also be translated to educational, corporate and training environments.

Play for Health Across the Lifespan uses case studies to explore the impact of play and creativity on health and wellbeing throughout the lifecycle. While play at the start of life influences future development, the authors show play also has a role in improving prospects for health and wellbeing in adulthood and later life. A relational approach to health and wellbeing emphasizes the dynamic, mutually influential relationship between individual development and the changing contexts of our lives. Our personal play history is one feature of this dynamic process, and this book explores how the experience of play throughout the life course sculpts and resculpts the shape of our lives: our physical health, our mental wellbeing, and our relationship to the people and the world around us. Storytelling has been used since the beginning of time to communicate important life lessons in an engaging way. Taking inspiration from Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’, the book uses a case-story approach to differentiate the stages of development and to present evidence for how play and playful experiences impact on health and wellbeing from birth to the end of life in the context of temporal and situational change. Each chapter in Play for Health Across the Lifespan introduces relevant evidence-based research on play and health, before presenting several narrative ‘case stories’, which illustrate the application of play theory and the neuroscience of play as they relate to each life stage. With contributions from specialists in health and education, community organizations and the creative and performing arts, this book will appeal to academics, students, and practitioners who are interested in exploring the role of play in addressing contemporary challenges to our physical, mental, and social health.