Clowning in health care settings: The point of view of adults
Author(s) / Creator(s)
Dionigi, Alberto
Canestrari, Carla
Abstract / Description
Within the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in investigating the effects of clown intervention in a large variety of clinical settings. Many studies have focused on the effects of clown intervention on children. However, few studies have investigated clowning effects on adults. This paper presents an overview of the concept of medical clowning followed by a literature review conducted on the empirical studies drawn from three data bases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar), with the aim of mapping and discussing the evidence of clowning effects on non-children, namely adults. The following areas were investigated: Adult and elderly patients (mainly those with dementia), observers of clowning, namely non-hospitalized adults who are at the hospital as relatives of patients or health-care staff, and finally clowns themselves. The main results are that 1) clown intervention induces positive emotions, thereby enhancing the patient’s well-being, reduces psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and prompts a decrease in negative emotions, such as anxiety and stress; 2) clown doctors are also well-perceived by relatives and healthcare staff and their presence appears to be useful in creating a lighter atmosphere in the health setting; 3) few pilot studies have been conducted on clown doctors and this lacuna represents a subject for future research.
Keyword(s)
clown clown doctor humor positive emotions complementary and alternative medicine adults well-beingPersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2016-08-19
Journal title
Europe's Journal of Psychology
Volume
12
Issue
3
Page numbers
473–488
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
Dionigi, A., & Canestrari, C. (2016). Clowning in health care settings: The point of view of adults. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 12(3), 473–488. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1107
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ejop.v12i3.1107.pdfAdobe PDF - 696.83KBMD5: ab62e1c1e6ada66ee85c87fa2db9b6c9
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There are no other versions of this object.
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Dionigi, Alberto
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Author(s) / Creator(s)Canestrari, Carla
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-21T09:59:45Z
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Made available on2018-11-21T09:59:45Z
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Date of first publication2016-08-19
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Abstract / DescriptionWithin the past decade, there has been a surge of interest in investigating the effects of clown intervention in a large variety of clinical settings. Many studies have focused on the effects of clown intervention on children. However, few studies have investigated clowning effects on adults. This paper presents an overview of the concept of medical clowning followed by a literature review conducted on the empirical studies drawn from three data bases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar), with the aim of mapping and discussing the evidence of clowning effects on non-children, namely adults. The following areas were investigated: Adult and elderly patients (mainly those with dementia), observers of clowning, namely non-hospitalized adults who are at the hospital as relatives of patients or health-care staff, and finally clowns themselves. The main results are that 1) clown intervention induces positive emotions, thereby enhancing the patient’s well-being, reduces psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and prompts a decrease in negative emotions, such as anxiety and stress; 2) clown doctors are also well-perceived by relatives and healthcare staff and their presence appears to be useful in creating a lighter atmosphere in the health setting; 3) few pilot studies have been conducted on clown doctors and this lacuna represents a subject for future research.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationDionigi, A., & Canestrari, C. (2016). Clowning in health care settings: The point of view of adults. Europe's Journal of Psychology, 12(3), 473–488. https://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1107
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ISSN1841-0413
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1011
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1203
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/ejop.v12i3.1107
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Keyword(s)clownen_US
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Keyword(s)clown doctoren_US
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Keyword(s)humoren_US
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Keyword(s)positive emotionsen_US
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Keyword(s)complementary and alternative medicineen_US
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Keyword(s)adultsen_US
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Keyword(s)well-beingen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleClowning in health care settings: The point of view of adultsen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue3
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Journal titleEurope's Journal of Psychology
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Page numbers473–488
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Volume12
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record