Abstract

MATRACA, Marcus Vinicius Campos; WIMMER, Gert  and  ARAUJO-JORGE, Tania Cremonini de. Dialogy of Laughter: a new concept introducing joy for health promotion based on dialogue, laughter, joy and the art of the clown. Ciênc. saúde coletiva [online]. 2011, vol.16, n.10, pp. 4127-4138. ISSN 1413-8123.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-81232011001100018.

The Dialogy of Laughter - a concept based upon the praxis of general health education performed with joy - is presented and discussed. Health is seen as a resource for life rather than a goal in life and promotion of health is a positive reaction leading to a broader, integrated and complex perception linking the environment, education, people, quality and style of life. Laughter can then be incorporated as a tool in health promotion as defended here. Considerations on dialogue, laughter, joy and the clown giving rise to the Dialogy of Laughter concept are presented. Dialogue, namely an exchange between two or more persons for the comprehension and transfer of ideas, is a methodology for joint thinking to produce new ideas and to share meaning, which is the essence of communication. Laughter is a universal phenomenon linked to aspects of culture, philosophy, history and health. It is dialogic, since through humor the comedy and the wit contained in each laugh, which is a communication code inherent to human nature, are revealed. Joy as a strategy for health promotion is highlighted and the art of the clown, using this art as an educational tool that can be integrated as a social technology, are adopted.

Keywords : Dialogy of laughter; Promotion of health; Joy; Clown.