New research into the positive effects medical clowns can have on children with pneumonia has added to the growing body of evidence suggesting laughter and joy are key ingredients in a patient’s recovery – even among adults.
The team at Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel, randomly assigned 26 children and teenagers, aged between 2 and 18, to be visited by medical clowns for 15 minutes, twice a day, up to two days after they arrived at the centre. Another control group of 25 children and teenagers received the same care but were not visited by clowns.
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A history of medical clowning
A laughing matter
A renewed sense of independence
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