title: Playing in the waiting room of an infant outpatient clinic from the perspective of children and their companions.
abstract: Playing is one way children use to communicate with the world that surrounds them. This descriptive-exploratory study aimed to understand the experience of playing for children and their companions in an outpatient waiting room. We performed semi-structured interviews with 12 children and those responsible for them. In the data analysis, three themes were identified: waiting time: "there is no other way, you have to wait"; using the time to play: turning the clinic into a more pleasant space; and the toy as a relations mediator. Playing is revealed to be an effective pediatric nursing intervention strategy in helping the child to overcome barriers imposed by the assistance. This resource favors the communication process among children, companions and professionals and, thus, greatly contributes to improve the care delivery.
authors.affiliation: University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, WHO Collaborating Centre for Nursing Research Development.
authors.forename: Iara Cristina
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: da Silva Pedro
authors.forename: Lucila Castanheira
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Livia Capelani
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Poleti
authors.forename: Regina Aparecida
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Garcia de Lima
authors.forename: Débora
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Falleiros de Mello
authors.forename: Flávia Mendonça
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rosa Luiz
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007224:Infant Care; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; D010988:Play and Playthings