Latest research: Meeting Dr. Red Nose brings positive emotional improvement to children

In November 2021, “the world’s first quantitative study of medical clown services in Taiwan” was published. This study began in June 2018 and investigated the physical and psychological changes experienced by 96 children in the hematology and oncology department, comparing those who were visited by Dr. Red Nose with those who were not. The conclusion was that, regardless of the children’s ages, their moods improved significantly and positively after meeting Dr. Red Nose.

We would like to thank the research team led by Dr. Wei-Wen Wu. After years of effort, they completed this study of medical clowns in Taiwan. In addition to giving us clearer direction for our efforts, it is deeply moving to see that the charitable actions we undertake together are gradually producing warm effects in Taiwan. We are becoming one of the many people and organizations dedicated to child-friendly healthcare, joining together as points of softly shining light.

The study is titled “The effectiveness of a medical clowning program on improving emotional status among hospitalized children undergoing cancer treatment: A quasi-experimental study.” It is the world’s first quantitative study focusing on Dr. Red Nose in Taiwan and was published in English in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship. This study began in June 2018 and investigated the physical and psychological changes experienced by 96 children in the hematology and oncology department, comparing those who were visited by Dr. Red Nose with those who were not.

These 96 children in the hematology and oncology department included young children aged 4–10 as well as older children aged 11–18. All 96 children had undergone treatment for at least three months and had not yet encountered a Dr. Red Nose during that hospital admission. Of these, 48 were assigned to the experimental group. In addition to their scheduled cancer treatment, they participated in one Dr. Red Nose performance and completed questionnaires before and after the performance about physical symptoms and self-rated emotions, using five facial expressions ranging from “very happy” to “very sad.” The other 48 served as the control group and received only their scheduled treatment, without a visit from a Dr. Red Nose.

The research results showed that children who interacted with Dr. Red Nose experienced significant and positive short-term changes in their emotional states. Furthermore, unlike the findings of most international studies, this study found that Dr. Red Nose were equally effective in improving the emotions of both “young children” and “older children,” breaking the established impression that “medical clowns are only effective for young children.” In the study’s conclusion, the authors strongly supported cooperation between pediatric oncology wards and medical clowns, and considered regular performances and visits by medical clowns to be genuinely effective in improving the emotional states of children undergoing cancer treatment!

Publication information

Journal: Journal of Nursing Scholarship

Publication date: November 2021

Authors:
Dr. Wei-Wen Wu (Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University), Dr. Li Lu (Director, Division of Pediatric Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital), Dr. Cheng-Hsi Hsu (Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, National Taiwan University)
Dr. Chia-Chun Tang (Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, National Taiwan University), Dr. Hsien-Tang Chou (Attending Physician, National Taiwan University Children’s Hospital), Dr. Chien-Hsu Chen (Director, Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital)
Dr. Yen-Lin Liu (Director, Division of Pediatric Oncology, Taipei Medical University Hospital)

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