TY - JOUR
T1 - Humor during clinical practice
T2 - Analysis of recorded clinical encounters
AU - Phillips, Kari A.
AU - Ospina, Naykky Singh
AU - Rodriguez-Gutierrez, Rene
AU - Castaneda-Guarderas, Ana
AU - Gionfriddo, Michael R.
AU - Branda, Megan
AU - Montori, Victor
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 American Board of Family Medicine. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2018/3/1
Y1 - 2018/3/1
N2 - Objective: Little is known about humor's use in clinical encounters, despite its many potential benefits. We aimed to describe humor during clinical encounters. Design: We analyzed 112 recorded clinical encounters. Two reviewers working independently identified instances of humor, as well as information surrounding the logistics of its use. Results: Of the 112 encounters, 66 (59%) contained 131 instances of humor. Humor was similarly frequent in primary care (36/61, 59%) and in specialty care (30/51, 59%), was more common in gender-concordant interactions (43/63, 68%), and was most common during counseling (81/112, 62%). Patients and clinicians introduced humor similarly (63 vs 66 instances). Typically, humor was about the patient's medical condition (40/131, 31%). Discussion and Conclusion: Humor is used commonly during counseling to discuss the patient's medical condition and to relate to general life events bringing warmth to the medical encounter. The timing and topic of humor and its use by all parties suggests humor plays a role in the social connection between patients and physicians and allows easier discussion of difficult topics. Further research is necessary to establish its impact on clinicians, patients, and outcomes.
AB - Objective: Little is known about humor's use in clinical encounters, despite its many potential benefits. We aimed to describe humor during clinical encounters. Design: We analyzed 112 recorded clinical encounters. Two reviewers working independently identified instances of humor, as well as information surrounding the logistics of its use. Results: Of the 112 encounters, 66 (59%) contained 131 instances of humor. Humor was similarly frequent in primary care (36/61, 59%) and in specialty care (30/51, 59%), was more common in gender-concordant interactions (43/63, 68%), and was most common during counseling (81/112, 62%). Patients and clinicians introduced humor similarly (63 vs 66 instances). Typically, humor was about the patient's medical condition (40/131, 31%). Discussion and Conclusion: Humor is used commonly during counseling to discuss the patient's medical condition and to relate to general life events bringing warmth to the medical encounter. The timing and topic of humor and its use by all parties suggests humor plays a role in the social connection between patients and physicians and allows easier discussion of difficult topics. Further research is necessary to establish its impact on clinicians, patients, and outcomes.
KW - Humor
KW - Patient-centered care
KW - Patient-physician communication
KW - Physician-patient relations
KW - Primary health care
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U2 - 10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170313
DO - 10.3122/jabfm.2018.02.170313
M3 - Article
C2 - 29535244
AN - SCOPUS:85044111372
SN - 1557-2625
VL - 31
SP - 270
EP - 278
JO - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
JF - Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
IS - 2
ER -