Aquário Carioca Children’s Chemotherapy Rooms

A partnership with set designer Gringo Cardia underpinned the implementation of the Aquário Carioca project, which turns chemotherapy rooms in to a magic underwater world offering peace and comfort to young patients, their relatives and practitioners, integrating treatment with opportunities for children and young people to develop and express themselves. The Aquario Carioca was inspired by the trail-blazing experiment that resulted in the Quimioteca Chemotherapy Playroom at the – Oncology Institute – GRAACC, in São Paulo. These chemotherapy rooms are where children and young people spend most their time for some eighteen months while being treated for cancers. Investing in the supply of playful alternatives that further the development of patients in these settings is very important. Furthermore, the organisation of the space enhances the self-esteem of the multi-professional staff, streamlining work processes and improving interactions with patients and their families.

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Inauguration of Aquário Carioca in IPPMG

Having invested in the physical facilities for the Chemotherapy Room, the Instituto Desiderata monitored the implementation of the Aquario Carioca Children’s Chemotherapy Room closely during its first two years, supporting the maintenance and definition of the sustainability strategy for these facilities. Moreover, the Institute organises meetings with hospital staff where they can exchange experiences that lead to deeper reflection on the humanisation policy of National Health System (SUS). Three workshops have already been held, each attended by some twenty practitioners.

The Instituto Desiderata intends to underpin the feasibility of turning every outpatient chemotherapy treatment room into an Aquario Carioca at Paediatric Oncology Units in public hospitals in Rio de Janeiro. To do so, it is striving to identify investor partners that are engaged and committed to this cause.

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Rooms from Aquário Carioca in IPPMG

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