Trifork Digital Health continues its support for Danish Hospital Clowns

Trifork Digital Health continues its sponsorship of Danish Hospital Clowns, supporting their work with children and young people during hospital stays and medical treatment. 

Who are the Danish Hospital Clowns? 

Before the patient, there is a child. 

A shared laugh. A moment of calm. The feeling of having some control in a situation where much is decided by others. 

Every day, the professionally trained hospital clowns from Danish Hospital Clowns, Danske Hospitalsklovne, meet children and young people facing illness, uncertainty and difficult treatments.  

Sometimes the clown creates laughter and distraction. At other times, the most important contribution is simply being present, listening or helping a child find the courage to face a difficult examination or treatment. 

What research tells us

Their work is often associated with laughter. Research suggests that its role can go further. 

A systematic review published in The BMJ examined 24 controlled studies involving 1,612 children and adolescents. The findings suggest that interaction with hospital clowns may help manage symptoms including anxiety, stress and pain during medical procedures and hospital stays. The authors also note limitations in the quality of some of the available evidence.  

A Danish mixed-methods study offers a closer look at what happens during painful procedures. Among children aged 7 to 15 undergoing venipuncture, those accompanied by a hospital clown reported lower pain scores. The study also found that age, the child’s condition and previous experiences influenced the interaction, pointing to the importance of adapting the clown’s approach to the individual child. 

50.000 meeting in a year  

In 2025, Danish Hospital Clowns completed more than 8,500 clown shifts and made approximately 50,000 visits to children and young people across Denmark. The organisation now has 83 professionally trained hospital clowns. 

The organisation has 82 trained hospital clowns, each of whom completes a specialised 18-month training programme and receives ongoing professional development. The hospital clowns work across hospitals, child and adolescent psychiatric units, specialist institutions and Denmark’s two children’s hospices.  

More than 8,5000 hospital clown shifts in 2025  

Approximately 50,000 visits in 2025  

82 professionally trained hospital clowns  

Present at 17 hospitals and 84 somatic hospital wards  

A different kind og support

For Trifork Digital Health, continuing the sponsorship is a way of supporting work that complements the clinical treatment taking place around the child. 

A red nose cannot make an illness disappear. But the research and the experiences from Danish hospitals point to something more modest and still important. The right encounter can help a child feel safer, less alone and better able to manage a difficult situation.  

Thank you to Danish Hospital Clowns for the work you do with children, young people and their families. 

Learn more about Danish Hospital Clowns and support their work: 
Visit Danish Hospital Clowns