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Description of initiative
The demographic change in Europe is resulting in a growing population of 65+ and a growing need for arts projects that address the wellbeing of the elderly. Senior citizens, and their general well-being, constitute a group whose needs often go unmet. RED NOSES Clowns are engaging with senior citizens since more than 25 years. They are meeting them with respect and empathy, integrating their personal history and activating all their senses. That means singing songs together, recalling familiar smells, sharing recipes, connecting with memories from their “golden years” or dancing a gentle waltz.
When it comes to elderly people, RED NOSES senior programmes aim at contributing to the development of compassionate, respectful and person-centred care. RED NOSES International recognizes the need to provide the highest standards of healthcare and wellbeing at all ages. During the interactions, humour is used to convey respect for human dignity and for the personal history of the other. For elderly people, humour at their bedside conveys the message that they are acknowledged as valuable member of society that deserve to receive empathetic attention.
Besides regular visits, RED NOSES also developed Varieté - a theater workshop for seniors. Senior citizens in need of care often have the impression that they are no longer needed because they no longer have any tasks. The workshop shows how much the elderly participants have to offer. Here, residents of nursing homes study stage acts from the magical world of vaudeville alongside the clowns and playfully become stars. For three days, nursing home residents enter the magical world of vaudeville. On two mornings, the clowns sensitively support the senior citizens as they rehearse their stage numbers in the areas of dance, artistry, magic and curiosities. The program is designed in such a way that people with a wide range of physical and cognitive impairments can also participate. After two days of rehearsals, the curtain is raised in front of a selected audience (residents, relatives, nursing staff) - the senior citizens perform what they have learned in a show. The applause and their successful performance boost the residents' self-confidence and show them what forgotten skills they still have.
Themes: Culture and...
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Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt
RED NOSES interventions contribute to improve the resilience and emotional well-being of senior citizens, affected by depression, apathy, anxiety and loneliness. According to their caregivers, the interaction with RED NOSES healthcare clowns has remarkable effects on their mental wellbeing. Interviewed staff in the centres considered that the most relevant effects of the intervention are at the general emotional condition of the residents - e.g. breaking their routine, making them more active and communicative, etc. -, but caregivers also mentioned improvement of the cognitive skills and abilities during the interaction with the clowndoctors.
The interaction with healthcare clowns reduce the negative emotions of residents and it has a special impact in softening the disruptive behaviour of some of them, e.g. shouting, crying, not being collaborative, etc. Caregivers considered this impact significant since the level of depression is high among their residents and it affects their general health conditions. Moreover, interviewed staff believed that the higher impact on the lives of the residents is not related only to the reduction of negative emotions, but in generating positive ones because this contributes directly to enhance the general conditions of the residents. Caregivers noticed that the elderly are more relaxed, active and satisfied after the clowndoctors’ visits.
Staff also have the opportunity to release their own stress and frustration. They believe that the interaction with the clowns reduce tension and changes the rhythm and the work dynamics and have positive lasting impacts in the environment.
There is a need to raise more awareness on the benefits of clowning for the elderly and a lack of official recognition of the relevance of this type of psychosocial support activities by ministries of health, which hinders their normalisation and their integration in the public sector.