1st Edition
Play and playfulness for public health and wellbeing
The role of play in human and animal development is well established, and its educational and therapeutic value is widely supported in the literature. This innovative book extends the play debate by assembling and examining the many pieces of the play puzzle from the perspective of public health. It tackles the dual aspects of art and science which inform both play theory and public health policy, and advocates for a ‘playful’ pursuit of public health, through the integration of evidence from parallel scientific and creative endeavors.
Drawing on international research evidence, the book addresses some of the major public health concerns of the 21st century – obesity, inactivity, loneliness and mental health – advocating for creative solutions to social disparities in health and wellbeing. From attachment at the start of life to detachment at life’s ending, in the home and in the workplace, and across virtual and physical environments, play is presented as vital to the creation of a new ‘culture of health’.
This book represents a valuable resource for students, academics, practitioners and policy-makers across a range of fields of interest including play, health, the creative arts and digital and environmental design.
List of illustrations
Foreword
Acknowledgements
List of contributors
Introduction
Julia Whitaker and Alison Tonkin
1 Improving the public’s health through playful endeavours
Julia Whitaker and Alison Tonkin
2 Playing for a healthy brain
Alison Tonkin
3 The science of public health
Alison Tonkin and Lisa Whiting
4 The art of public health and the wisdom of play: Participation in the creative arts as a route to health and wellbeing
Eric Fleming and Julia Whitaker
5 Playing together: The art and the science of relationships
Julia Whitaker and Alison Tonkin
6 Play, attachment and the empathy–equity connection
Julia Whitaker
7 Finding playfulness in the everyday: An antidote to the ‘saturation’ of modern family life
Julia Whitaker
8 The playful pursuit of child public health
Jenni Etchells and Alison Tonkin
9 Play, disability and public health
Claire Weldon and Alison Tonkin
10 A playful working life and beyond
Christina Freeman and Alison Tonkin
11 Playing in a digital world
Alison Tonkin
12 A place for play: Creating playful environments for health and wellbeing
Julia Whitaker and Alison Tonkin
13 Playful policy
Rachel Bayliss and Alison Tonkin
14 Playful endings: Making meaning at the end of life
Julia Whitaker and Alison Tonkin
Index
Biography
Alison Tonkin is Head of Higher Education at Stanmore College, United Kingdom. Alison has a research background in health promotion for pre-school children and has worked as both a diagnostic and therapeutic radiographer.
Julia Whitaker has worked therapeutically with children and families in both public and private sectors for the past 30 years. Originally trained as a social worker and family therapist, Julia is also a registered Health Play Specialist with wide-ranging clinical and teaching experience in the field.