Clowning around: Understanding the role of clown doctors at a major pediatric hospital

Purpose Clown doctors are a feature in pediatric hospitals, visiting children and families, providing a welcome escape from the reality of hospitalization. Though the use of humor to improve health and wellbeing has been widely researched, limited exploration of the role of clown doctors has occurred. This study aims to elucidate the role of clown doctors within a major pediatric hospital. Methods This was an ethnographic study. Ethnography is an innovative approach to pediatric research, giving an intricate view that is otherwise difficult to attain. Participants for this …