Hospital clowns help children deal with symptoms, research shows

Interacting with clowns can help children and adolescents in hospitals better manage symptoms and improve their psychological and emotional well-being, studies show

Last updated: July 05, 2022 | 00:30

Jobannie C. Tabada

2 MIN READ

In some of the studies reviewed by researchers, clowns helped enhance paediatric patients’ cooperation with medical procedures

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The BMJ

Le Petit Journal

medical clowning groups

The systematic review evaluated 24 studies from randomised and non-randomised controlled trials, involving some 1,612 children and adolescents. The researchers did note that further research is required to understand the impact of hospital clowns in symptom clusters in long-term hospital stay. While the review found favourable results of hospital clown intervention from a cross-section of paediatric patients with multiple conditions, it also noted that more research is needed to understand the effects of clowns on certain disorders such as cancer.

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