As part of the International Book Day celebrations, iconic characters from children’s literature such as The Little Prince, Harry Potter, and the Mad Hatter, among other protagonists of classic stories that seek to enchant and bring the world of children closer, arrived at the pediatric unit. books to the smallest patients who are in hospital.
This reading promotion initiative turns convalescence into a fundamental opportunity to get closer to reading, allowing the promotion of imagination and creativity. On this point, the nursery educator and person in charge of the “Reading Point” at the Ovallino health facility, Clara Pinto, commented that “reading within the hospital is important and we reinforce it especially in the pediatric service because books allow development of linguistic, cognitive and emotional skills. With these activities, books re-enchant children because when you enter the rooms to see the patients, everyone is on the phone.”
In addition, he added that “sometimes at home they don’t have access to books and phones are gaining space, so the books have to be repositioned. It has been shown that those who have contact with books tend to show better academic performance, knowledge, good use of language and reading comprehension.”
THE BOOKS AS PART COMPREHENSIVE OF THE CARE
Since 2011, the Provincial Hospital has had a reading space thanks to a Fondart project that allowed them to incorporate reading promotion activities, specifically in the area of pediatrics. However, between the pandemic and the change of hospital, this library stopped its loans, since the restrictions also affected the books and some due to their materiality had to be isolated.
But this 2024, the project promoted by Clara Pinto is active again, thus reaffirming its commitment to promoting the book. In this sense, the reading mediator of the hospital facility highlighted that reading contributes to the emotional and mental well-being of patients during their stay, emphasizing that “the book calms them down, shows them stories that disconnect them a little from what happens here, It shows you new images and that also makes the child distracted from his hospitalization situation. It also distracts the father, mother or companion.”
The reading point has a collection that goes beyond children’s books; the shelves also include historical novels, science fiction, Chilean literature and some health books.
This initiative extends to officials who can access the loan of books from 15 days to a month, thus recognizing the fundamental role that reading plays in physical and mental well-being, causing a positive impact on people.
