Play and Cultural Relevance

Abstract

Research supports the essential nature of play as directly impactful of children's overall development and wellbeing. However, the meaning of play, play materials, and access to play are not uniform across cultures or communities. Biopsychosocial factors such as development, health, mental health, trauma, racism, gender, gender identity, family structure, socioeconomics, geography, and religion influence how and why children play within their daily lives. Children in healthcare settings can face additional obstacles to play engagement thereby minimizing the therapeutic and healing impact of play. This chapter seeks to highlight the need for healthcare providers, particularly play specialists, to improve their understanding of biopsychosocial factors to promote more thorough assessments of patient coping, facilitate beneficial play engagements, and address areas of intrinsic bias in pursuit of optimal outcomes and well-being for children in healthcare settings whether hospitals, community clinics, hospice, or residential care.