Humour therapy, laughter and the intervention of clowns in gerontology

Soins Gerontol. 2018 Mar - Apr;23(130):37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.sger.2018.01.008. []. [Article in French] Lelièvre A1, Gérard S2, Hermabessière S2, Martinez M3, Péran B3, Rolland Y4. Author information 1 Gérontopôle, CHU de Toulouse, Hôpital Garonne, 224 avenue de Casselardit, TSA 40031, 31059 Toulouse cedex 9, France. Electronic address: lelievre.a@chu-toulouse.fr. 2 CHU de Toulouse, Hôpital Garonne, 224 avenue de Casselardit, TSA 40031, 31059 Toulouse cedex 9, France. 3 Université de Toulouse Jean-Jaurès, 5 allée Antonio-Machado, 31058 Toulouse cedex 9, France. 4 Gérontologie clinique et médecine, CHU de Toulouse, Cité de la Santé, Hôpital le Grave, 20 rue du Pont-Saint-Pierre, 31052 Toulouse, France. Abstract Confronted with the growing incidence of age-related pathologies and the limits of so-called traditional medicine oriented towards the prescribing of medicines, non-pharmacological approaches have grown considerably in the geriatric community. A literature review focused on the therapeutic benefit of humour, laughter and the use of clowns on the physical and psychological health of elderly people. KEYWORDS: Alzheimer's disease; clown; geriatrics; gériatrie; humour; laughter; maladie d’Alzheimer; rire; therapy; thérapie