December 26, 2016

Laughter is good medicine for nursing home residents

Laughter is good medicine for nursing home residents

(HealthDay)—Laughter therapy improves the quality of life of nursing home residents, according to a study published online Dec. 16 in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

Nilgun Kuru and Gulumser Kublay, Ph.D., from the Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing in Ankara, Turkey, compared the effectiveness of laughter therapy (two days per week for 21 sessions in total) in 32 nursing home residents from one nursing home versus a of 33 nursing home residents at another nursing home who did not receive laughter therapy.

The researchers found that total and subscale (physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, , role-emotional, and spiritual health) quality-of-life scores significantly increased in the experimental group after the laughter therapy intervention compared with the pretest.

"Nursing home management should integrate laughter therapy into health care and laughter therapy should be provided as a routine nursing intervention," the authors write.

More information: Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Journal information: Journal of Clinical Nursing

Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Citation: Laughter is good medicine for nursing home residents (2016, December 26) retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-laughter-good-medicine-nursing-home.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Resistance band exercise aids nursing home residents
33 shares

Feedback to editors
Researchers create an AI-powered digital imaging system to speed up cancer biopsy results

38 minutes ago
Understanding the cellular mechanisms of obesity-induced inflammation and metabolic dysfunction

1 hour ago
Researchers publish final results of key clinical trial for gene therapy for sickle cell disease

1 hour ago
Study reveals tai chi benefits for sleep quality in advanced lung cancer patients

1 hour ago
Using AI to improve diagnosis of rare genetic disorders

1 hour ago
Genetic variations may predispose people to Parkinson's disease following long-term pesticide exposure, study finds

5 hours ago
Link between depression and cardiovascular disease explained: They partly develop from same gene module

10 hours ago
Study highlights increased risk of second cancers among breast cancer survivors

15 hours ago
Opioids during pregnancy not linked to substantially increased risk of psychiatric disorders in children

16 hours ago
Research identifies pitfalls and opportunities for generative AI in patient messaging systems

16 hours ago
Load comments (0)