ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2020
Humour and laughing in patients with prolonged incurable cancer: an ethnographic study in a comprehensive cancer centre.
Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of Laughter Therapy on Improving Negative Emotions Associated with Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Oncology · 2024Pooled it
- Humour helps healing: Application of therapeutic humour in palliative care.Canadian oncology nursing journal = Revue canadienne de nursing oncologique · 2026Article
- Article
- Setting the Stage for Cancer: Stay Soft and Optimistic.The Yale journal of biology and medicine · 2024Review
- Clinicians' experiences with cancer patients living longer with incurable cancer: a focus group study in the Netherlands.Primary health care research & development · 2023Article
- Friendship during patients' stable and unstable phases of incurable cancer: a qualitative interview study.BMJ open · 2022Article
- Patient-to-Patient Interactions During the Pain Management Programme: The Role of Humor and Venting in Building a Socially Supportive Community.Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2022Article
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeMost people are familiar with the expression 'laughter is the best medicine'. By enhancing cognitive flexibility and strengthening relationships, laughter can be considered a holistic care-approach. Yet, in medical oncology, especially the palliative phase, using humour can be considered inappropriate or taboo. We aimed to explore the acceptability and functions of humour and laughter in patients with prolonged incurable cancer.
methodsThis study was performed in a Dutch Comprehensive Cancer Centre. We included four short conversations with patients, eighteen in-depth patient-interviews and eleven observational fieldnotes in which humour was a major topic of the conversation. We further administered an online questionnaire to thirty-three oncology clinicians about their experiences with humour. Qualitative data were thematically analysed. We specifically distinguished between humour and laughter.
resultsNearly all specialists reported using humour (97%), and all reported sometimes laughing during consultations; 83% experienced a positive effect of laughter. These results were in line with patients' experiences: Patients noted that humour always stayed alive despite medical difficulties. Apart from this human aspect, patients also used humour to broach difficult topics and downplay challenges. Patients and specialists acknowledged that using humour is sometimes inappropriate, partly because they did not always share the same humour. Laughter, in contrast, was regarded as 'lighter' than humour, and could, accordingly, more easily be implemented. Specialists cautioned against patients using laughter to avoid broaching difficult topics.
conclusionMany conversations were full of laughter. Hierarchy as usually experienced between healthcare professionals and patients/relatives seemed to disappear when using laughter. If applied appropriately, adding shared laughter may help optimize shared decision-making.
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Registered trials
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