Humor for health: a randomized controlled trial of clown visits in Palestinian hospitals

21101 7 112261 2 338980 document 112261 1-s2.0-S0305750X25003493-main.pdf application/pdf e4760d645947ab1f44a0d8e72817c280 MD5 1670630 2026-01-07 10:08:57 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21101/1/1-s2.0-S0305750X25003493-main.pdf 21101 1 1 application/pdf text en public cc_by_4

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published 112279 1 339016 document 112279 indexcodes.txt text/plain dfd6de3077c52974c793905e5d6872ed MD5 17337 2026-01-07 10:19:15 https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/21101/2/indexcodes.txt 21101 2 2 text/plain other Generate index codes conversion from text to indexcodes en public

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http://eprints.org/relation/isVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/112261 http://eprints.org/relation/isVolatileVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/112261 http://eprints.org/relation/issmallThumbnailVersionOf https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/document/112261 archive 353 disk0/00/02/11/01 2026-01-07 10:10:59 2026-01-07 10:10:59 2026-01-07 10:10:59 article show Gräser M. Grimm C. Hoffmann R. 2316 Humor for health: a randomized controlled trial of clown visits in Palestinian hospitals pub POPJUS MIG Healthcare, Clown visits, Pediatrics, Well-being, Randomized controlled trial, Palestine Hospitalization can be a highly stressful experience for children, potentially affecting their well-being and recovery. This study evaluates the impact of hospital clown visits on pediatric patients in Palestine. The health system of the country is severely challenged by the ongoing conflict and sociopolitical tensions which have major implications for the physical and mental health of children and obstruct patients’ access to healthcare services. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to estimate the effects of clown visits on caregiver-rated health outcomes: children’s well-being during hospitalization, subjective recovery, and perceptions of hospital quality. We find that clown visits had a statistically significant positive effect on children’s well-being with levels of well-being in the treatment group being 0.25 standard deviations higher than in the control group. The effect was stronger among children from higher socio-economic backgrounds and those with a favorable predisposition towards clowns. We found no significant effects on caregiver-rated subjective recovery or perceptions of hospital quality. Our findings suggest that low-cost, non-medical interventions can play a meaningful role in improving the hospital experience for children, particularly in fragile and conflict-affected settings. 2026-04 published Elsevier doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2025.107263 3234 public World Development 200 e107263 1 TRUE 1873-5991 Sustainability Performances, Evidence and Scenarios (SPES, HE 101094551) Climate Change and Human (Im)Mobility: The Role of Compound and Cascading Risks (2C-RISK, HE 101162653) yes info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HE/101094551/EU//SPES; info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HE/101162653/EU//2C-RISK info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess