Humor Plays An Important Role In Healthcare Even When Patients Are Terminally Ill
Canadian researchers spent nearly 300 hours observing and carrying out interviews with staff, patients and families in an intensive care unit and a palliative care unit for people with terminal illnesses. They concluded that "combined with scientific skill and compassion, humor offers a humanizing dimension in healthcare that is too valuable to be overlooked."
Canadian researchers study use of humour in an intensive care unit and palliative care unit
Humour can play an essential role in the most serious healthcare settings, even when patients are receiving intensive or end of life care, according to research in the April issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical
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"Some people feel that humour is trivial and unprofessional in healthcare settings, but this study shows that it is neither" says co-author Dr Ruth Dean, a nurse researcher from the University of Manitoba.
Dr Dean carried out the study in the palliative care unit, spending 200 hours observing and informally interacting with care providers, patients and family members and carrying out semi-structured interviews with 15 healthcare staff, including nurses, doctors, a social worker and physiotherapist.
Her colleague Joanne Major from the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg spent 72 hours in an intensive care unit, observing and carrying out semi-structured interviews with 15 nurses.
"Despite major differences between the work of the intensive care and palliative care units, they are both areas where serious illness, high anxiety and patient and family distress are prevalent and staff are placed in emotionally demanding situations" says Dr Dean. "Crises are frequent, death is close by and emotions tend to run high."
The authors conclude that humour was very important in these stressful healthcare settings.
"One member of staff referred to humour as the glue that holds human connections together, a statement that was clearly reinforced by our