Malaga hospital marks International Book Day by promoting reading among patients

Malaga hospital marks International Book Day by promoting reading among patients.
Quirónsalud Malaga Hospital is highlighting the health benefits of reading which it claims reduces stress levels by 65 per cent, by giving patients books and sharing the work of famous local writers.
Books by Malaga authors have been gifted to patients, including works by Manuel Alcántara, Pablo Aranda, Maria Zambrano, Emilio Prados, Rafael Pérez Estrada and María Victoria Atencia.
In addition, hospital staff have been sharing their favorite books in different videos prepared to mark yesterday’s International Book Day (April 23).
Dr. Tomás Urda, Hospital Quirónsalud Malaga Hospital MD and a great fan of reading, said he had huge difficulty choosing just one title, but opted for The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig.
“It’s an autobiographical journey through the end of the Habsburg Empire, two World Wars, a Nazi persecution….but, above all, it is a hymn to life, a magnificent lesson of overcoming adversity and a human book, very human….very opportune for a moment like this,” he said.
“Reading, especially in patients, reduces the stress and anxiety of hospitalisation and, in the same way, helps in relaxation and sleep, improving health and well-being,” said the hospital in a statement.
“For this reason, the hospital invites all patients to read, and especially hospitalised children who have been given the book ‘The Adventures of Kenko’, by Lola González.”
“The book is inspired by an eight-year-old girl who, through fun adventures, shows the importance of exercising, having a good diet and maintaining good hygiene, and values ​​such as responsibility, friendship, courage or prudence,” added Quirónsalud.
Psychologist Carmen Barceló said “the association with a character or a specific case in reading can help personal growth”.
She added that it has also been shown that a novel, especially fiction, “allows us to appreciate the world from other points of view and to identify with the characters, which positively affects the development of social skills”.