J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs.  2013 Dec;22(4):359-367.

Effects of Laughter Therapy on Pain, Depression, and Quality of Life of Elderly People with Osteoarthritis

• Ko YJ
• Hyun MY

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a laughter therapy on pain, depression, and quality of life of elderly people with osteoarthritis.
METHODS
A quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design was used. Participants (n=60) included older adults who were diagnosed with osteoarthritis and received treatment at the out patient departments of two different hospitals. Data were collected from March 9 to 30, 2011. Experimental group (n=30) participated in laughter therapy four times, once a week for 50 min per session. Questionnaires were used to measure pretest and posttest levels of pain, depression, and quality of life.
RESULTS
At the end of four-week intervention, pain (F=11.32, p=.001) and depression (F=10.77, p=.002) were significantly decreased in the experimental group. Quality of life (F=6.28, p=.015) were significantly improve in the experimental group.
CONCLUSION
The study results suggest that the laughter therapy is an effective intervention to reduce the pain and depression, and to improve quality of life. It seems that this program can widely be utilized as one of nursing intervention programs for the elderly people with osteoarthritis.

Keyword

Laughter therapy; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Depression; Quality of life

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged*
Depression*
Humans
Laughter Therapy*
Laughter*
Nursing
Osteoarthritis*
Quality of Life*
Surveys and Questionnaires

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