Intensive care staff perception of medical clowns to an adult intensive care unit: a before-and-after study

An adult intensive care unit medical clowning program was met with moderately positive staff attitudes, with a median Likert score of 4 across 87 anonymous surveys.

• Why it matters: Adult ICU clowning’s effects on staff, patients, and families are largely unexplored, despite pediatric ICU evidence for reduced stress and improved experiences.
• What they did: ICU staff completed anonymous questionnaires before and 6 months after implementation (45 pre, 42 post), using a five-point Likert scale plus qualitative feedback adapted from previously validated surveys.
• The result: Perceived patient and family effects stayed unchanged, while workplace atmosphere and mood were non-significantly improved; qualitative comments reported reduced anxiety and requested expansion, with some concerns for unconscious patients.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.