Quality of life or 'quality moments of life': considering the impact of relational clowning for people living with dementia

This paper reports on a mixed methods project entitled Playful Engagement aimed at improving the quality of life (QoL) of individuals living with dementia through engagement with two relational clowns. Analysis of the quantitative data was unable to identify QoL improvements, whilst the qualitative data revealed positive affective outcomes within individual visits. In light of these outcomes, literature focused on the perceptions of QoL by individuals living with dementia was employed to generate an alternate reading. This alternate reading suggests that while the visits may not have improved the participants’ overall quality of life, they nevertheless generated ‘quality moments of life’ characterised by connectedness, relationships, agency and happiness.No Full Tex