Brightly colored chemotherapy room with children playing.

Turning Chemotherapy into Playtime: How 'Chemo-tecas' Boost Kids' Wellbeing

Rhea Morgan in Health & Wellness December 2025 • 3 min read.

"Discover how colorful, play-filled environments are transforming outpatient chemotherapy for children, making treatment less stressful and more effective."

In healthcare, creating welcoming and supportive environments can significantly impact patients, especially children. Traditional healthcare settings can be intimidating, and innovative approaches are needed to make medical experiences less stressful.

The National Humanization Policy emphasizes comprehensive care, highlighting the importance of creating welcoming and ethical environments within healthcare. This includes making hospital or outpatient care experiences less painful and stressful, emphasizing free visiting hours, involving loved ones, improving physical surroundings, and promoting play.

For children undergoing chemotherapy, integrating play can significantly improve their experience. Recognizing this, the Pediatric Oncology Institute in São Paulo developed 'Quimioteca Fundação Orsa', an outpatient clinic designed to combine chemotherapy with play, aiming to reduce discomfort and improve wellbeing. This article explores how this approach transforms the treatment experience from the perspective of the children's caregivers.

The 'Chemo-teca' Effect: How Play Transforms Treatment

Brightly colored chemotherapy room with children playing.

The Quimioteca Fundação Orsa integrates recreational activities into the chemotherapy room. The key findings from the research on the facility suggest that a play-filled environment positively influences treatment quality and children's overall wellbeing. Caregivers noted that the environment helped to:

The research indicates that the caregivers overwhelmingly viewed the 'Chemo-teca' experience as positive, noting specific improvements:

Reduced stress and anxiety associated with treatment.
Distracted children from pain and discomfort.
Made the environment more pleasant and less intimidating.
Contributed to a more positive and engaging treatment experience.

The physical environment and the availability of toys was found to directly influence the quality of treatment. Caregivers appreciated having professionals dedicated to engaging children in play, further contributing to a supportive atmosphere. Caregivers suggested even more frequent and diverse play activities, highlighting the ongoing need for improvement and adaptation.

Creating a New Standard for Pediatric Care

The Quimioteca Fundação Orsa provides a compelling model for integrating play and medical treatment. The positive feedback from caregivers underscores the potential of such environments to improve the chemotherapy experience for children.

By prioritizing a child-friendly atmosphere and offering engaging activities, healthcare providers can significantly reduce the stress and anxiety associated with chemotherapy, contributing to better overall outcomes.

The 'Chemo-teca' concept encourages healthcare facilities to consider creative and humanized approaches to care, fostering a more supportive and healing environment for young patients and their families.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

Everything You Need To Know

What exactly is a 'Chemo-teca'?

A 'Chemo-teca' is an innovative space designed to blend medical treatment with play, specifically for children undergoing chemotherapy. It's a play-filled environment within an outpatient clinic, like the 'Quimioteca Fundação Orsa' in São Paulo. The goal is to transform the treatment experience, making it less stressful and more enjoyable for children by integrating recreational activities into the chemotherapy room. This approach contrasts with traditional healthcare settings, which can be intimidating.

Why are 'Chemo-tecas' considered important?

The 'Chemo-tecas' are important because they significantly improve children's wellbeing and the quality of their chemotherapy treatment. The integration of play helps reduce stress and anxiety, distracts from pain and discomfort, and makes the environment less intimidating. This results in a more positive and engaging treatment experience for children, which is crucial for their overall health and emotional well-being during a difficult time. Caregivers reported overwhelmingly positive experiences.

What is the 'Quimioteca Fundação Orsa'?

The 'Quimioteca Fundação Orsa' is a specific example of a 'Chemo-teca'. Located in São Paulo, it's a model for integrating play and medical treatment. It was developed by the Pediatric Oncology Institute. It features a chemotherapy room designed to include recreational activities. The feedback from caregivers has been very positive, which underscores the potential of such environments to improve the chemotherapy experience for children and providing a compelling case study.

How does the National Humanization Policy relate to 'Chemo-tecas'?

The National Humanization Policy emphasizes the importance of creating welcoming and ethical environments within healthcare, which is crucial in the context of 'Chemo-tecas'. This policy highlights the need to make healthcare experiences less stressful and more supportive. This includes elements like free visiting hours, involving loved ones, improving physical surroundings, and promoting play, which align with the principles behind 'Chemo-tecas'. This policy underscores the need to address the overall patient experience.

What specific benefits did caregivers report from the 'Chemo-teca' experience?

Caregivers reported several specific improvements due to the 'Chemo-teca' environment. These include a reduction in stress and anxiety, distraction from pain and discomfort, a more pleasant and less intimidating atmosphere, and a more positive and engaging treatment experience. They also valued the presence of professionals dedicated to engaging children in play, which further contributed to the supportive atmosphere. Caregivers suggested even more frequent and diverse play activities, indicating the ongoing need for improvement and adaptation of 'Chemo-tecas'.