The Role of Child Life Specialists in Community Settings

Hospitalization can cause short-term to long-term issues to children’s biopsychosocial health. Play strategies have played a key role in preventing hospitalization trauma. Properly trained play specialists provide children with structured play activities that have proven to be effective in diminishing anxiety, depression, and negative emotions among in-patient children and their parents. These techniques are beneficial to ameliorating children’s and parents’ coping strategies and treatment compliance. However, discrepancies among countries’ healthcare systems in recognizing the value of play highlights the need for major awareness in the field. The Handbook of Research on Play Specialism Strategies to Prevent Pediatric Hospitalization Trauma spreads knowledge about the potential of playing to protect and increase children's health during hospitalization. The book focuses on play strategies counteracting pediatric patients’ trauma, anxiety, depression, and other biopsychosocial negative consequences. It discusses the rights of hospitalized children and the strengths of the play specialism approach. Covering topics such as chronically ill children, pediatric oncology, and culturally sustaining practices, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for child psychologists, psychotherapists, neuroscientists, pedagogists, psychiatrists, nurses, physicians, health sociologists, pediatricians, play specialists, students and faculty of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.