• Yuval Krieger, Michelle Pachevsky, Yaron Shoham, Ron Biederko, Lena Novack, and Orly Sarid.
• Department of Plastic Surgery, Soroka University Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. Electronic address: dr.krieger@gmail.com.
• Burns. 2022 May 1; 48 (3): 654-661.

ContextHigh levels of pain and emotional distress characterize the experience of patients, at burn outpatient clinic and reflect on their accompanying persons and the medical personal.ObjectivesTo examine the effect of a medical clown presence on: the patients' pain and distress levels as perceived by the patient and by their accompanying persons, and the emotional response of healthcare personnel.MethodsA yearlong prospective observational comparative study in the burn outpatient clinic, operating twice a week, with a medical clown's presence once a week [Exposure Group - EG] versus clinic without clown presence [Non exposure Group- NEG]. Patients and accompanying persons filled pain [WBS, VAS] and emotional distress [SUDS] questionnaires regarding the patient's experience: before (T1) and after treatment (T2). The clinic personnel filled SUDS at the beginning and the end of the clinic working hours.ResultsSignificantly lower WBS, VAS, and SUDS scores were reported at T2 in the EG as compared to the NEG both in patients and in the accompanying persons' evaluations. Personnel SUDS were affected in a similar manner.ConclusionPresence of a medical clown induced a positive atmosphere in the clinic. It is possible that the effect of humor through stress reduction mechanism lessened agony. Furthermore, the distraction the clown evoked played a role in the decrease of pain and emotional distress. We recommend implementing psychosocial oriented interventions such as those performed by a medical clown to improve the emotional atmosphere in the ambulatory clinic of patients, accompanying persons and healthcare personnel.Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd and ISBI. All rights reserved.

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