Transforming the Moment: Humor and Laughter in Palliative Care
Transforming the moment: Humor and laughter in palliative care
Publication info: The University of Manitoba (Canada), ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2003. NQ90475.
ProQuest document link
Abstract:
The purpose of the research was to develop an extensive description of when and how humor and laughter are present in palliative care; to determine what functions are served by humor and laughter; and to identify circumstances where humor and laughter may be observed or experienced by patients, families, or staff as inappropriate or offensive.
Data were collected through participant observation, informal interviews with patients and families, and semi-structured interviews with members of the healthcare team. Fieldwork involved over 200 hours spent accompanying six nurses for all of their daily activities on a 30 bed inpatient palliative care unit. Informal interviews occurred in the context of interactions with patients and families over the course of the fieldwork.
Data analysis revealed that humor and laughter were pervasive and important in the research setting. An overall attitude of good humor pervaded the environment. Within that atmosphere, humor took varied expressions, ranging in form and intensity. Gentle humor in the form of understated subtleties was pervasive. Witticisms and wordplay were common among the staff, as were playfulness, teasing, and jokes. Uproarious hilarity sometimes erupted in response to unexpected and spontaneous events or the high jinks of staff. Occasionally there was dark humor which poked fun at death and serious situations. Sometimes there was the more biting humor of sarcasm and putdowns.
Humor served a variety of functions which were identified in three overarching themes; building relationships, contending with circumstances, and expressing sensibility. Humor between patients, families, and staff most commonly served to build therapeutic relationships, relieve tension, and protect dignity and a sense of worth.
Publication info: The University of Manitoba (Canada), ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2003. NQ90475.
ProQuest document link
Abstract:
The purpose of the research was to develop an extensive description of when and how humor and laughter are present in palliative care; to determine what functions are served by humor and laughter; and to identify circumstances where humor and laughter may be observed or experienced by patients, families, or staff as inappropriate or offensive.
Data were collected through participant observation, informal interviews with patients and families, and semi-structured interviews with members of the healthcare team. Fieldwork involved over 200 hours spent accompanying six nurses for all of their daily activities on a 30 bed inpatient palliative care unit. Informal interviews occurred in the context of interactions with patients and families over the course of the fieldwork.
Data analysis revealed that humor and laughter were pervasive and important in the research setting. An overall attitude of good humor pervaded the environment. Within that atmosphere, humor took varied expressions, ranging in form and intensity. Gentle humor in the form of understated subtleties was pervasive. Witticisms and wordplay were common among the staff, as were playfulness, teasing, and jokes. Uproarious hilarity sometimes erupted in response to unexpected and spontaneous events or the high jinks of staff. Occasionally there was dark humor which poked fun at death and serious situations. Sometimes there was the more biting humor of sarcasm and putdowns.
Humor served a variety of functions which were identified in three overarching themes; building relationships, contending with circumstances, and expressing sensibility. Humor between patients, families, and staff most commonly served to build therapeutic relationships, relieve tension, and protect dignity and a sense of worth.