Is there a role for clowns in paediatric intensive care units?

Hospital clowning is a programme in healthcare facilities involving visits from specially trained actors. In the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), clowning may appear inappropriate and less intuitive. The patient could appear too ill and/or sedated, the environment too crowded or chaotic and the parents too stressed.

Parental perceptions of clown care in paediatric intensive care units.

Aim: The objective of this study was to report family satisfaction with regards to the presence of clowns in the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Methods: This is a single-centre survey-based study, conducted over 4 months in a 12-bed third level PICU in a university hospital. All parents present at the bedside of their child during clowning were considered as potential participants.

[Clowns in the pediatric intensive care unit in France].

Introduction: In recent years, in children's hospitals, clowns are involved in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), at the bedside of the most severely ill children. This study is the first that addresses the work of professional clowns in the PICU. Its aim is to describe this practice in French hospitals.

Beyond the wheelchair: development of motorised transport for people with severe mobility impairments in developing countries.

Purpose: In developing countries, lack of over-the-road transportation reduces a vast number of disabled people to a life of begging, dependency and social isolation. Although there have been some excellent efforts to provide low-cost wheelchairs and hand-powered tricycles, little has been done to further provide transport for disabled people.

Methods: To address this problem directly we devised a low-cost motorised wheelchair transporter prototype (the Skeeter) using a combination of bicycle parts, a custom built frame, and an inexpensive small engine for propulsion.