Bringing smiles and humour into hospital settings through clown doctors could help dementia sufferers. Dr Bernie Warren will present this and his other recent findings on the benefits of ‘clown doctors’ at the British Psychological Society’s Annual Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon on 15th April 2010.
Dr Warren and colleagues from the University of Windsor, Canada, have found that the impact of ‘clown-doctors’ is wider than originally thought. Dr Warren said: “Previous research has found that clown-doctors can help children undergoing painful procedures, however in our latest study we investigated whether they can also benefit older patients.”
The clown-doctors are performers who have also received training in issues relating to illness and disease. Their role is to create a positive atmosphere and a sense of community in each room, ward and hospital, through smiles and laughter.
“We found that the addition of clown-doctors to teams of carers was found to improve communication, recognition of family members and memory of dementia sufferers, suggesting that clown-doctors could be used to help more patient groups than previously thought,” said Dr Warren.
“Clown-doctors can also bring about changes related to mood, perceptions of pain, time and general outlook, that can alleviate or remove distress involved in hospital stays.”
Dr Warren will also be running a workshop on incorporating humour and clown skills. His work originated in the UK before his move to Canada. Schemes are in place all round the world, with some similar clown-doctor schemes running in a number of hospitals in the UK.
Source: British Psychological Society
