ABSTRACT
Background: In many ways, humour is a mode of
communication. Traditionally, it is the quality of being funny or appreciating
funny things, manifesting in smiling or laughing. Using verbal or unverbal
forms, humour has many styles and can be found in almost any situation, on any
occasion. This is a universal language which can help to create a natural
connection during patient interactions based on confidence and authenticity.
Objectives: Various forms of humour may be
relevant in different contexts and to different people. Humour is currently
being employed in the nurse-patient relationship. Moreover, laughter has many
clinical benefits, promoting beneficial biological, psychological and social
changes. As a possible therapeutic tool, can humour be taught to the
radiographer or the student?
Methods: The study took place between
November 2015 and February 2016. In the first phase, quantitative questions
were addressed to radiographers (641 answers) and students (411 answers). Then,
a qualitative research was only done for professionals working in the field of
diagnostic and therapeutic radiology (91 answers). Nursing staff and
radiographers apprentices evaluated the utility of laughter on health and their
interest in learning humour.
Results: In healthcare, humour therapy can
help to relieve stress, to deal with depression, to serve as a diversionary
tactic, to dispel fear of the unknown - even fear of the death - and to give an
overall sense of well-being. For the participants, humour provides a more
subtle and much less formal relationship with the patient. Most of them used
humour as a therapeutic tool to turn negative emotions into positive thoughts,
which improve the capacity of resilience. If it seems important for the
majority to balance the workday with a human behavior that adds joy to life,
there is a lack of consensus to get a professional training on humour. Some
people judge humour as a natural predisposition; whereas others think it is
necessary to learn it as a skill during professional training, or higher
education.
Conclusions: This study reveals that humour
at the heart of the nurse-patient relationship can enhance current healthcare.
If it seems relatively complicated to teach humour for all the professional
radiographers or students, we must never forget that «a smile is the
shortest distance between two people» (Borge, 1991).
Keywords: humour ; nurse-patient relationship ;
radiographer ; student ; training.
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