Medical Clowns Help Patients Deal With Emotional and Physical Pain

PainRelief.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Medical clowns use various helpful skills that are worth learning. They move between complete identification with the patient and taking their side to help them deal with difficult emotions. They move between touching and dealing with emotional and physical pain with empathy to help distract the patient’s mind from the pain. Other health professionals can use some of the skills used by the medical clowns! 

PainRelief.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: Other studies can examine how the identified skills and practices are used in real-life encounters with different populations—for example, exploring how medical clowns deal with older patients, whether the same skills are applied or what adjustments are made.

PainRelief.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?

Responses: No disclosures. I can share that – watching experienced clowns use their various skills to help patients deal with the challenges in healthcare is fascinating. It is imperative to help integrate them into patients’ care, along with other health professionals, as they advocate for the patient and help motivate the patient to adhere to the treatment plan. 

Citation:

Karnieli-Miller O, Divon-Ophir O, Sagi D, Pessach-Gelblum L, Ziv A, Rozental L. More Than Just an Entertainment Show: Identification of Medical Clowns’ Communication Skills and Therapeutic Goals. Qualitative Health Research. 2023;33(1-2):25-38. doi:10.1177/10497323221139781

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10497323221139781

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Last Updated on January 15, 2023 by PainRelief.com