TITLE:
Humor Is Important in Healthcare Relationship? —The Perceptions of Doctors and Nurses
AUTHORS:
Cristina Vaz de Almeida, Cecília Nunes
KEYWORDS:
Health Literacy, Humor, Healthcare, Health Relationship, Patient Satisfaction, Health Professional Satisfaction
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.7 No.5,
May
27,
2020
ABSTRACT: It has been empirically demonstrated that humor can positively affect psychological and physical well-being, and that sense of humor is a major component of high-hope individuals [1]. Sharing humor contributes to feelings of togetherness, closeness, and friendship and promotes positive communication in prevention, perception, and perspective of results. To assess the perception of health professionals about the use of communication competences, among which, the use of humor in the therapeutic relationship, a qualitative study was developed with 88 health professionals, namely Portuguese doctors and nurses in central hospitals and health units in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, Portugal. In this context, 14 focus groups were held, lasting about 60 minutes, with participants of both genders, 64 female and 24 male, with an average of 43.2 years of age between 24 and 68 years old, having all signed a prior informed consent, with authorization from the ethics committee (process n°. 57/2019). The results obtained show that humor is valid in the therapeutic relationship, but it must be used in previously known patients, used in moderation, being necessary to previously evaluate the patients’ socio-cultural conditions. If these requirements are met, humor has favorable effects on both patients and health professionals. We also searched the PUBMed databases and selected a set of articles that contained the word “humor” with three effects of humor on the patient: on the physical and biological aspects, on the psychological state and the influence on personal and social relationships.