Medical clowning’s contribution to the well-being of older adults in a residential home

Medical clowning is a familiar practice in residential homes worldwide. While previous studies focused on medical clowning interventions with individual dementia patients, this study explores medical clowning group sessions with independent older adults in a residential home in Israel. Data were collected through observations in 10 weekly sessions in two groups and 28 semi-structured interviews. Combining medical clowning and psychodrama techniques, sessions included three phases: (1) warm-up where participants move their bodies using funny items, (2) action where they play group games and do role-play, and (3) sharing, in which one participant in each session is invited to tell a personal story, followed by a medal ceremony. Participants stated that medical clowning supported them physically, emotionally and socially, and should become part of the culture in residential homes. The unique contributions of medical clowning sessions for the well-being of older adults are the result of having the legitimacy to play and laugh, gaining empowerment by sharing stories from the past, and the creation of a sense of belonging to the group. In addition, older adults experienced medical clowning as a process of becoming visible and active.