Survey Results

Shaping the future of healthcare together began with a survey to define the priorities and challenges HCIM 2026 should explore.

 

 

  • Performing arts and clowning in healthcare

  • Art of connecting

  • Sustainable management and fundraising strategies

  • Research, impact and social sustainability

  • The future of humanizing care

Listening to our community

Earlier this year, we reached out to the international healthcare clowning community with three key questions:

  • What topics and challenges should HCIM 2026 address to best support innovation?
  • What difficulties arise in collaboration within healthcare environments, and what support or training would help?
  • How can our work grow worldwide in the face of political and economic instability, and what should our next key initiatives be?

More than 50 of you responded, sharing ideas, recommendations, and aspirations. Your input provides a rich snapshot of the current state of healthcare clowning and a clear sense of direction for the future.

These reflections are already shaping HCIM 2026 into a congress built around your realities, ideas, and ambitions.

Three highlights that emerged from your responses:

Elevating artistic practice in complex settings

How can we maintain artistic excellence when adapting to different healthcare environments? Many of you emphasized the importance of continuing to evolve creatively through storytelling, improvisation or physical theatre, while remaining sensitive to the needs of patients in settings such as elder care, dementia care and trauma care. There was also a call to revisit how artists are trained and mentored, to ensure that professional development pathways support long-term growth and align with the Arts and Health movement's broader ambitions.

Deepening human connection

Connection lies at the heart of healthcare clowning. Many of you emphasized the importance of strengthening empathetic and trauma-informed practices, as well as cultivating closer collaboration with healthcare professionals. There is a growing awareness of how internal team dynamics built on trust, mutual support and care contribute to the sustainability of the work. Several responses raised important questions about cultivating emotional wellbeing, passing on knowledge across generations, and ensuring that teams and leadership reflect diversity in terms of culture, age, neurodiversity, and gender.

Deepening human connection

Connection lies at the heart of healthcare clowning. Many of you emphasized the importance of strengthening empathetic and trauma-informed practices, as well as cultivating closer collaboration with healthcare professionals. There is a growing awareness of how internal team dynamics built on trust, mutual support and care contribute to the sustainability of the work. Several responses raised important questions about cultivating emotional wellbeing, passing on knowledge across generations, and ensuring that teams and leadership reflect diversity in terms of culture, age, neurodiversity, and gender.

Proving our impact and ensuring sustainability

Long-term sustainability and impact were key concerns. There was a strong emphasis on the need for more robust research, meaningful data and policy engagement to elevate the profession. The challenges faced by smaller organizations, such as limited funding, collaboration and access to training, were also raised. Nevertheless, a shared vision emerged of a more inclusive and compassionate healthcare system in which clowning is an integral part of care.