Clown Care, also known as hospital clowning, is a program in health care facilities involving visits from ____ trained clowns. They are colloquially called “clown doctors” which is a trademarked name in several countries. These ____ to hospitals have been shown to help in lifting patients’ moods with the positive power of hope and humor. There is also an associated positive benefit to the ____ and families of patients.Patch Adams, considered the ____ hospital clown, started being a hospital clown in the 1970s. He was ____ in the movie Patch Adams by Robin Williams, bringing attention to hospital clowning.Professional Clown Doctors began working in hospitals in 1986 under a program ____ the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit, which was started by Michael Christensen in New York City. Clown Doctor programs now ____ in every state in Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, South Africa, Hong Kong, Brazil, and all over Europe. Clown Doctors specifically attend to the psycho-social needs of the hospitalized child but in some hospitals they also visit adults. They parody the hospital routine to help children ____ to their surroundings, they also distract from painful or frightening procedures. The atmosphere of fun and laughter can help children ____ about the illness and the stress for a moment.Clown Doctors use ____ such as magic, music, storytelling and other clowning skills to help children deal with the range of emotions they may ____ while in hospital: fear, anxiety, loneliness, boredom.The healing power of humor and laughter combats stress, reduces pain, boosts the immune system, helps promote a positive outlook, helps people to cope with difficult situations and helps to create ____ and therefore support between people. ____ on the physiological health benefits on laughter has been conducted for ____ and continues to be carried out by medical physicians internationally. There is also a growing group of researchers that are exploring the psychological benefits of laughter, and specifically the work of Clown-Doctors.

Smiling doctors

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