| Effects of Laughter Therapy on Pain, Depression, and Quality of Life of Elderly People with Osteoarthritis. |
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Yeon Ja Ko, Mi Yeul Hyun |
1Seogwipo Medical Center, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Jeju, Korea.
2College of Nursing, Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea. hpeople@jejunu.ac.kr |
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| 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. |
| Key Words:
Laughter therapy; Osteoarthritis; Pain; Depression; Quality of life |
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