Hospital clownery – entertainment or treatment? History of development and experience

The article discusses one of the areas of psychological rehabilitation of children in a hospital – hospital clowns. The theoretical and practical prerequisites of the history of the development of hospital clownery both abroad and in the Russian Federation are shown. The results of studies of the effectiveness of the impact of hospital clownery and laughter therapy on the emotional state of children and their parents, in particular on the experience of anxiety and fears in the postoperative period, as well as on the severity of pain during medical manipulations such as venipuncture, allergy tests and radionuclide scanning are presented. The results of a qualitative analysis of the author’s empirical research of 133 children and 65 parents are presented. The aim of the research was to study the effect of hospital clownery on the emotional state of children resulting from hospitalization and treatment received (painful manipulations, surgical intervention). Subjective assessments by children and parents of their psycho-emotional state were recorded using questionnaires. The projective method was also used – the Luscher Test. The results of a qualitative analysis demonstrated a subjective sensation of an improvement in the psychoemotional state in 97% of children and in 92% of parents (improving mood, decreasing of anxiety and fears). 67% of children noted a weakening of the pain syndrome. Thus, the authors have confirmed by their own research the positive effect of hospital clownery on children’s health. The presented review clearly demonstrates the feasibility of expanding the use of this method in children’s hospitals of various profiles.