TY  - JOUR
AU  - Dionigi, Alberto
PY  - 2018
DA  - 2018/05/31
TI  - Healthcare Clowning: Use of Specific Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Hospitalized Children
JO  - OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine
SP  - 009
VL  - 03
IS  - 02
AB  - Clowning has a varied tradition and a long history. Recently, clowns have been adopted in the medical setting with the aim of decreasing the negative emotions that can be experienced during hospitalization and medical procedures, as well as inducing positive feelings in patients, their relatives, and the hospital staff. Due to an increase in the number of clowns working in hospitals and the large amount of interest shown in utilizing this approach, an increasing number of studies have focused on testing the efficacy of this complementary and alternative strategy. Here, we provide an overview of the concept of healthcare clowning followed by a literature review of 28 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) drawn from two databases (PubMed and Google Scholar), with the aim of investigating and discussing evidence for the effects of healthcare clowning on children. The search revealed the different settings in which RCTs have been conducted: preoperative areas, during medical procedures, and during hospitalization. The search also revealed the different outcomes that were measured. In general, the results show that clown interventions are effective in decreasing negative emotions and psychological symptoms and in enhancing the well-being of patients and their relatives. Appreciation of clown interventions by healthcare staff has also increased in recent years.
SN  - 2573-4393
UR  - https://doi.org/10.21926/obm.icm.1802009
DO  - 10.21926/obm.icm.1802009
ID  - Dionigi2018
ER  -