On practicing magicine, from wonder to care: A systematic review of studies that apply magic in healthcare

Rationale: Magic, traditionally perceived as entertainment, has been increasingly employed in healthcare to enhance health and well-being. Despite its potential benefits across various dimensions of health, including biological, psychological, and social, a comprehensive review highlighting its broad applications in healthcare remains unexplored. Objective: This study aims to explore the diverse uses of magic within healthcare, progressing from entertainment to integral medical care, termed “magicine.” Methods: This systematic review adopted a narrative synthesis approach, and an extensive database search was conducted including Embase Classic & Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), Scopus, the Cochrane Collaboration Central Register of Controlled Clinical Trials, Cochrane Systematic Reviews, and CINAHL (EBSCOhost), from the earliest records to 22 June 2023. Potential applications of magic in healthcare were explored with an unrestricted search strategy. A quality assessment was conducted using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. (Registration: PROSPERO number CRD42023417122.) Results: This review identified 82 journal articles, including 11 randomized controlled trials, four quasi-experimental designs, 10 pre-experimental designs, five qualitative studies, three mixed methods studies, two observational studies, five review articles, and 42 commentaries. The review resulted in the conception of “magicine ennead” — nine diverse areas where magic can be applied in healthcare including physical rehabilitation, cognitive training, psychotherapy, humor therapy, distraction therapy, social skills, health education, doctor-patient relationships, and surgical techniques. These applications demonstrate the potential of magic to enhance health outcomes for the general population and improve the clinical practice of healthcare professionals. Conclusions: Magic in healthcare shows potential for varied applications, and a deeper understanding of these applications could lead to optimized and cost-efficient intervention programs. Given the heterogeneity and varied methodological quality of the current research, future studies necessitate the adoption of rigorous designs with active controls.