Hospitalsklovnen : mødet med en klovn i et hospitalsmiljø

The Hospital Clown : Meeting And Interaction Between Individuals And The Clown

Författare

Ann Barbara Birkmand

Summary, in English

The main purpose of this study is to observe and consequently describe and provide a perspective on the meeting and interaction between the hospital clown and younger children, their parents and respectively older children, hospitalized for a limited period: How does the clown interact with the child and how does the child (and the parents) interact and engage with the clown?

In addition, I have observed how the rational and scientific approach of the hospital interacts with the irrational and emotional approach of the clown.

The applied methodology of the study is qualitative and founded on the principles of Phenomenology. By applying the ethnographic method, the majority of the data has been collected by the author during field studies including mainly observations and partly interviews. Certain key features of the Phenomenology are openness and the absence of personal values and preconceptions in regards to the phenomenon - in this case the meeting and interaction between individuals and the clown. Having completed my field studies, it is my claim that conformation (svensk: gestaltning), reflection, and redemption of sentiments and close presence are key issues in the interaction between children and the clown; humour and performance are less pronounced and less important. The clown works from a sense, an intuition and an empathy that affects the individual patient, but is difficult to measure or prove. The clown provides a space where the child can express its sentiments and feelings – of which there are many when hospitalized. However, the question remains how this subjective claim contests the traditional and measurable science.

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