Beyond theatre, film, television, and arts, clowning has been used in the medical setting to help people with illness, trauma, and improved wellbeing for different populations. Clowning in the hospitals have received mixed reviews, depending on the audience.
In 2008, the University of Sheffield conducted a study of hospital clowns and concluded that children were afraid of clowns. One of the researchers involved in the study, Professor of Child and Family Health and Wellbeing Penny Curtis, stated, “We found that clowns are universally disliked by children.” Child Psychologist Patricia Doorbar observed, “Research has shown that children in hospital are often frightened by a lot of things that adults would not find scary.” In response to the study one hospital clown, known as PipSqueak the Clown, said, “There are those who are afraid of clowns, this is unavoidable, the same way that there are those afraid of dogs and spiders. It is the responsibility of the clown to know his environment, and take the necessary steps when confronted with a phobia.”
While clowns in the medical setting have not necessarily been popularized, clowning is currently used by hospitals to support patients. In an international study of clowning in hospitals for adult patients, the authors describe the impact of clown doctors on patients through several scientifically measured studies. For example, patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) showed improvement in lung function after working with clowns . In a study of patients undergoing in vitro fertilization, researchers found that patients who were entertained by a clown doctor after embryo transfer had a pregnancy rate of 36.4%, compared with 20.2% in the control group. . A study published in The Journal of Clinical Nursing found that a combination of art therapy and clowning helped reduce anxiety for children about to undergo surgery, while also making them laugh. Reduction in anxiety was measured using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale.
The best-known hospital clown and medical doctor is probably Patch Adams because of the 1998 Robin Williams movie. Williams was a regular donor to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and Patch Adams.
In real life, Patch Adams began incorporating magic and clowning into his medical practice as part of his philosophy of holistic medicine. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute in 1971 after earning his medical degree from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Patch Adams wrote a tribute to Robin Williams after the actor’s death in 2014, which opens with “surrounded by over 100 friends and clowns on our annual clown trip, we mourn this tragic loss and continue to treasure his comic genius.”
In addition to hospitals, clowning is also used to help people in crisis. Clowns Without Borders (or Payasos Sin Fronteras), originally founded in Spain, is an international organization with multiple chapters. They partner with local organizations and relief organizations to bring clowning to communities. The USA chapter’s mission is to “offe[r] joy and laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and territories in situations of emergency. Researcher Elise van Nunan describes the work of Clowns Without Borders as “Humanitarian Clowning.” (Please note: Clowns Without Borders is not affiliated with Doctors Without Borders.)
Join us next week as we continue our exploration of clown archetypes.