Clown therapy in the hospital setting: A review of the literature/Palhacoterapia em ambiente hospitalar: uma revisao de literatura

• Published in: Ciência & saude coletiva p. 3417
• Main Authors: Catapan, Soraia de Camargo, de Oliveira, Walter Ferreira, Rotta, Tatiana Marcela
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Associacao Brasileira de Pos-Graduacao em Saude Coletiva - ABRASCO 01-09-2019
• ISSN: 1413-8123
• DOI: 10.1590/1413-81232018249.22832017

The presence of clowns in hospitals is relatively recent and more than 700 organizations now perform clown therapy in hospitals in Brazil and around the world. Considering the emphasis on comprehensive care and the humanization of health, it is timely to understand and analyze the national and international scientific literature on clown therapy. This practice challenges the hegemonic biomedical model and potentially helps in the recuperation of health. A review of the literature was conducted and 18 publications were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The following categories arose from the analysis: physiological, behavioral, and emotional responses; pre-surgical anxiety and attribution of new meanings to practices and the hospital environment. Results have shown that clown therapy leads to a significant decrease in preoperative anxiety in children, even compared with the results obtained with the use of anesthesia-inducing drugs. Most studies investigated the use of clown therapy during patients' adaptation to hospitalization, helping them to attribute new meanings to this situation. Despite its low representation in the scientific field and the fact that it has not been widely accepted as a health practice, several studies have shown the benefits of using clown therapy in the hospital setting. Key words Humanization of care, Laughter therapy, Hospital care A insercao do palhaco no hospital e relativamente recente e mais de 700 organizacoes realizam a palhacoterapia nessas instituicoes no Brasil e em outras ao redor do mundo. Dada a enfase na integralidade do cuidado e humanizacao da assistencia a saude, torna-se oportuno compreender e analisar a producao nacional e internacional do conhecimento cientifico sobre esta pratica que desafia o modelo hegemonico de cuidado e potencialmente contribui na recuperacao da saude. Foi realizada uma revisao de literatura utilizando analise de conteudo tematica que analisou 18 publicacoes. As categorias que emergiram foram: respostas fisiologicas, comportamentais e emocionais; ansiedade pre-operatoria; e ressignificacao das praticas e do ambiente hospitalar. A literatura analisada aponta que a palhacoterapia provoca diminuicao significativa da ansiedade pre-operatoria em criancas, comparativamente maior do que a obtida com o uso de um farmaco indutor de anestesia. A maior parte dos estudos investigou o uso da palhacoterapia na adaptacao a hospitalizacao, auxiliando na atribuicao de novos significados. Apesar da baixa representatividade do tema no campo cientifico e mesmo nao sendo amplamente aceita como pratica de saude, os resultados encontrados sugerem beneficios na utilizacao da palhacoterapia em ambiente hospitalar. Palavras-chave Humanizacao da assistencia, Terapia do riso, Assistencia hospitalar