The Use of Humor in Promoting Positive Provider-Patient Interactions in a Hospital Rehabilitation Unit

Abstract

Humor within the health care setting apparently can serve to facilitate positive patient-provider interactions and to create a patient-centered environment. This article provides an ethnographic account of patient-provider interactions held during therapeutic activity sessions within a hospital unit (MIRTH) designed to promote therapeutic humor. This study's findings suggest that humor in these activity sessions was mainly a by-product of more predominant effects, such as patients' positive attitude and happiness. Whereas MIRTH used contrived humor to portray its identity as a humor unit, staff and patients also took advantage of spontaneous humor that emerged out of interactions. Humor appeared secondary to the primary outcome of promoting patients' happiness and well being.