HAPPINESS’ DOCTORS: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS PROMOTION OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Abstract

Complexity over population health care demands has been rising since techno-scientific skills are not enough anymore to supply plural needs into a socio-economically stratified community. Singular characteristics from each patient and their relation with other individuals create a single heterogenic society whose ethic and cultural values call for creation of specific strategies in order to achieve an efficient treatment for each personality. Hence, psychosocial consideration added to the biological concern is called Health Care Humanization. Happiness’ Doctors extension project aims at promoting practice, research and consciousness about Health Care Humanization – more specifically into psychosocial area as a complement to biological treatment offered at Botucatu’s Clinic Hospital, UNESP – considering the influence and subsequent responsibility of one person’s acts over their neighbor’s welfare. Implemented by over 120 scholars from biological areas on the campus - among undergraduates and graduate students – the project directly affects a significant number of over 2100 patients annually: 1200 children in the Pediatric Ward added to 300 children and 600 adults in Chemotherapy. In addition, family members, caregivers and health professionals are also served directly and indirectly by the "clown-doctors", which can extend the process of benefit to 1000 more people. Currently, there are also two scientific projects to study the effectiveness and effects of the project on his executioners and patients: the first describes the qualitative profile of the members of the project and the project's influence on their career choices, the second analyzes the changes in the levels of stress of children served by the project through the quantification of salivary cortisol before and after the "clown-doctors" action. Thus, this experience essay brings to the question possible benefits of using this concept through playful clowning of Medicine, Nursing, Biomedicine, Nutrition, Medical Physics, Veterinarian Medicine, Zootechny, Forest Engineering and Agronomy undergraduates – some are not related to health care, but all of them are more than anything social wellbeing driving forces – on human ambulatory environment.