Medical Clowning: Needs Assessment and Implication for Hospitalized Children With Cancer/Blood Disease

Overview

Hospitalized children who undergo painful procedures are more susceptible than others to experiencing iatrogenic effects, such as anxiety, pain, and severe stress. Clowns in clinical setting have been found to be effective in reducing children's experiences of these effects during hospitalization and before procedures. This article provides an overview of clowning in health care settings; reviews major studies conducted on clowning for hospitalized children, discussing evidence that clown interventions decrease pain and distress in pediatric patients; and concludes with a discussion of health care clowning as a profession.

Full Title of Study: “Medical Clowning: Needs Assessment, Implication, and Evaluation for Children and Adolescents With Cancer Using Child Friendly Healthcare”

Study Type

  • Study Type: Observational
  • Study Design
    • Time Perspective: Cross-Sectional
  • Study Primary Completion Date: March 31, 2020

Interventions

  • Behavioral: Medical Clowning for children
    • Clowns in clinical setting have been found to be effective in reducing children’s experiences of these effects during hospitalization and before procedures.

Arms, Groups and Cohorts

  • children and their parents
    • aged 4-18 children with cancer/blood disease and their parents
  • Dr. Clowns
    • they will perform shows for children and parents

Clinical Trial Outcome Measures

Primary Measures

  • experience and influence from medical clowning for children and their parents
    • Time Frame: 1 year
    • Children with cancer/blood disease and their parents would use self-report to complete the questionnaire after medical clowning. Using Face Rating Scale (1=very unhappy to 5=very happy) for measuring emotion state (pre-emotion for before medical clowning and post-emotion for after medical clowning). It can understand whether their emotion state change before/after medical clowning or not.

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria

  • aged 4-18 children with cancer/blood disease and parents of children aged 0-18 years with cancer/blood disease Exclusion Criteria:

  • older than aged 18

Gender Eligibility: All

Minimum Age: N/A

Maximum Age: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • National Taiwan University Hospital
  • Provider of Information About this Clinical Study
    • Sponsor

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