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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The effect of laughter therapy on the quality of life of nursing home
residents
Nilgun Kuru and Gulumser Kublay
Aims and objectives. To evaluate the effect of Laughter therapy on the quality of
life of nursing home residents.
Background. By improving the quality of life of residents living in nursing homes
and allowing them to have a healthier existence, their lives can be extended.
Therefore, interventions impacting the quality of life of older adults are of critical
importance.
Design. Quasi-experimental design.
Method. The study was conducted between 2 March –25 May 2015. The experi-
mental group was composed of 32 nursing home residents from one nursing
home, while the control group consisted of 33 nursing home residents from
another nursing home in the capital city of Turkey. Laughter therapy was applied
with nursing home residents of the experimental group two days per week (21
sessions in total). A socio-demographic form and the Short-Form Health Survey
(SF-36) were used for data collection.
Results. After the laughter therapy intervention, general and subscales (physical
functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning,
role-emotional and spiritual health) quality-of-life scores of residents in the exper-
imental group significantly increased in comparison with the pretest.
Conclusion. Laughter therapy improved the quality of life of nursing home resi-
dents. Therefore, nursing home management should integrate laughter therapy
into health care and laughter therapy should be provided as a routine nursing
intervention.
Relevance to clinical practice. The results indicated that the laughter therapy pro-
gramme had a positive effect on the quality of life of nursing home residents.
Nurses can use laughter therapy as an intervention to improve quality of life of
nursing home residents.
Key words: laughter therapy, nursing, nursing home residents, older adult, quality
of life
What does this paper contribute
to the wider global clinical
community
•It is known that the older adult
population is increasing world-
wide. For this reason, the num-
ber of residents living in nursing
homes is also increasing. Previ-
ous research has determined that
the quality of life of older adults
who live in nursing homes is
low.
•Interventions are needed to
improve the quality of life of
older adults.
•Our results indicated that laugh-
ter therapy increased the quality
of life of nursing home residents.
•Nurses can use laughter therapy
as an intervention to improve the
quality of life of nursing home
residents. Nursing administration
can make arrangements to use
laughter therapy in nursing
homes and laughter therapy also
can be integrated into nursing
education.
Accepted for publication: 3 December 2016
Authors: Nilgun Kuru, PhD, RN, Research Assistant, Department
of Public Health Nursing, Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing
Ankara; Gulumser Kublay, PhD, RN, Professor, Department of
Public Health Nursing, Hacettepe University Faculty of Nursing
Ankara, Turkey
Correspondence: Nilgun Kuru, Research Assistant, Hacettepe
University Faculty of Nursing, Ankara, Turkey. Telephone: +90
312 321 2013/+90 312 305 1447.
E-mail: nilgun.kuru@hacettepe.edu.tr
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
3354 Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362, doi: 10.1111/jocn.13687
Introduction
The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the
population is increasingly ageing worldwide (WHO 2012).
Two per cent of the total population was over the age of
60 in 2015; this rate is expected to increase by 32% every
year (United Nations 2015). On the other hand, in Turkey,
while the percentage of those aged 60 years or older in the
total population was 8% in 2014, according to population
projections, it estimated that this rate will rise to 102% in
2023 and 208% in 2050 (T€
urkiye
_
Istatistik Kurumu
2014). A rapid increase in the aged population is related to
various problems for older adults such as economic, envi-
ronmental, social, health, housing and care issues (WHO
2015). In addition, lower quality of life among older adults
is a major concern, because people tend to develop lower
quality of life with age (Rejeski & Mihalko 2001). More-
over, research has determined that older adults who live in
nursing homes experience more loneliness and have lower
quality of life than those who live with their families
(Drageset et al. 2008, Nikmat et al. 2013, Hedayati et al.
2014).
Background
Quality of life
Quality of life is an individual’s perception of his/her life
position in terms of aims, expectations and standards in
their culture and values system (WHOQOL G 1995). Qual-
ity of life is a broad and complex concept influenced by
physical, spiritual and social situations of individuals, per-
sonal faith, as well as relationship with the environment
(WHO 1998). For this reason, it cannot be observed
directly but can be measured by means of factors affecting
it (Hanestad 1990). In quality-of-life research conducted
with older adults, some individual factors such as age (Mol-
zahn et al. 2010, Thompson et al. 2012), gender (Molzahn
et al. 2010, Milte et al. 2015), education status and eco-
nomic status (Baernholdt et al. 2012, Bielderman et al.
2015) had an effect on the quality of life of older adults. In
addition, social factors such as family relationships (Lan-
glois et al. 2013), social relations (Bilotta et al. 2012), lone-
liness (Theeke et al. 2012) and living alone (Bilotta et al.
2012), as well as living in a nursing home (Bilotta et al.
2011), health condition (Molzahn et al. 2010, Renaud
et al. 2010, Baernholdt et al. 2012, Simpson et al. 2015),
culture (Molzahn et al. 2011), physical activity (de Vries
et al. 2012), free time for physical activity (Thompson et al.
2012, Langlois et al. 2013) and smoking (Thompson et al.
2012) were determined to be important variables affecting
quality of life of older adults. Good quality of life is a
necessity rather than a luxury for healthy ageing in all
countries. Research has shown social support (
Arestedt
et al. 2013), better financial conditions and good relations
with relatives (Webb et al. 2011) to be associated with
increased quality of life among older adults. In addition,
recent studies have indicated that initiatives such as pilates
(De Siqueira Rodrigues et al. 2010), Tai Chi (Taylor-Piliae
et al. 2014), yoga (Gonc
ßalves et al. 2011), aerobic walking,
exercise therapy (Awick et al. 2015), music, prayer, medita-
tion, laughter and humour (Lindquist et al. 2013) can be
used as interventions to improve the quality of life of older
adults.
Laughter therapy
Laughter universally provides observable physiological
advantages and has social functions (Pearce 2004). Laugh-
ter is primarily examined within three theories: superiority
theory, incongruity theory and relief theory.
Superiority theory assumes that we reflect on our superi-
ority by laughing at other people’s unluckiness. Aristotle,
Plato and Hobbes indicated that laughter involves finding
and mocking imperfections in relationships between people
(Morreall 1982). This theory was reformulated by Gruner
in the 21st century, such that laughter requires a winner, a
loser, incoherence in the present situation and an element
of surprise (Morreall 1983, Gruner 2000, Mulder & Nij-
holt 2002). According to incongruity theory, laughter is a
reaction to the violation of expectations. In incongruity the-
ory, nonsense, unexpected events, discordant stress or irrel-
evant events are the basis for laughter. However, although
this situation is necessary for laughter, it is not enough on
its own (Hargie 1997, Kulka 2007). John Morreall (2011)
describes the fundamental meaning of ‘incongruity’ as
employed within incongruity theories as that which occurs
when ‘something or event we perceive or think about vio-
lates our normal mental patterns and normal expectations’.
According to relief theory, laughter is generally accepted to
involve nervous tension (Morreall 1983). According to
Freud, psychic energy arises to overcome pent-up feelings
about taboo topics such as death or sex. Moreover, laugh-
ter results not only when energy is released but also when
one thinks about a taboo topic (Freud 1995).
Laughter therapy is an exercise composed of uncondi-
tional laughing exercises with yoga breathing techniques. It
is a therapeutic method created by Dr Madan Kataria.
Laughter therapy involves adding laughter exercises to
yoga. During a session, laughter is feigned through physical
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362 3355
Original article Laughter therapy and Quality of life
exercises, by providing contact with other members of the
group and by playing children’s games. Often, feigned
laughter quickly turns into contagious laughter, because the
human body cannot distinguish between fake laughter and
real laughter (Kataria 2011). Humour and laughter are
tools frequently used by healthcare personnel in the rehabil-
itation of disease related to stress and lifestyle and for the
maintenance and improvement of health (Seaward 1992).
Laughter therapy has been used with different groups
such as patients with type 2 diabetes (Hayashi et al. 2007),
women receiving in vitro fertilisation (Chung 2011), breast
cancer survivors (Cho & Oh 2011) and patients with atopic
eczema (Kimata 2007). However, studies about the use of
laughter therapy with older adults are limited and have not
been conducted in Turkey. Thus, this is the first study con-
ducted using laughter therapy in Turkey.
Methods
Design
For this study, a quasi-experimental design with pretest/
posttest control group was used.
Sample and data collection
Sample
The study population comprised residents from two differ-
ent private nursing homes. These nursing homes had the
same organisational characteristics, management, social ser-
vices care and care processes. G*Power was used to calcu-
late the sample size. The estimated sample size was
measured by predicting an average change in scores after
therapy (experimental group before therapy 6600 1184,
after therapy 7994 1203; control group before therapy
6719 1354, after therapy 6619 1117) (Cho & Oh
2011). It was calculated that 90% power could be achieved
with a 95% confidence interval when 62 subjects (31 in
each of the experimental and control groups) were selected.
Exclusion criteria for participation were having severe hear-
ing or perceptual deficits that impair communication,
advance dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, uncon-
trollable diabetes, hypertensive disease and a surgical opera-
tion with risk of bleeding. Inclusion criteria were over age
50, maintaining independence in daily activities and agree-
ing to take part in the study. The study was carried out
with 70 volunteer residents who met criteria for inclusion.
Thirty-five residents from one nursing home formed the
experimental group, while the control group was composed
of 35 residents from another nursing home. However, the
experimental group was reduced to 32 residents because of
the death of a participant and two residents who received
treatment in an intensive care unit. In addition, the control
group was reduced to 33 residents due to the death of one
participant and another leaving the nursing home.
Data collection
The data were collected between 2 March –25 May 2015.
The socio-demographic form and the Medical Outcomes
Study (MOS) 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36)
were used for data collection.
Measures
Socio-demographic form
The socio-demographic form was created based on the liter-
ature and collected demographic information (gender, age,
marital status, educational status, occupation, social secu-
rity status, income status) (T.R. Prime Ministry State Plan-
ning Organization, 2007, Aksoydan 2009, Esendemir 2013,
Hosseinpoor et al. 2013).
SF-36 health survey
The SF-36 Health Survey was developed to measure quality
of life related to health. Developed in 1992 by Ware, the
SF-36 is a self-assessment scale (Ware & Sherbourne 1992)
that comprises 36 questions within two domains, includes a
physical component score and mental component score,
and eight subscales including physical functioning, role-
physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social func-
tioning, role-emotional and spiritual health (Ware & Gan-
dek 1998). Subscales are scored between 0–100 points,
with 100 representing good health condition and 0 repre-
senting bad health condition (Burholt & Nash 2011). The
scale can be used as a measure of quality of life both before
and after a treatment intervention.
The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the
SF-36 has been studied in many countries and was con-
firmed for a patient group with rheumatic illness by
Koc
ßyi
git et al. (1999). Internal consistency measured using
the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for each subscale was
found to be within 073–076 (Koc
ßyi
git et al. 1999).
Among cancer patients, a test–retest internal consistency
Cronbach’s alpha value of eight subscales was found (Pinar
2005). Yakar and Pinar (2013) re-examined the validity
and reliability of the Turkish SF-36 and found a Cron-
bach’s alpha value of 090 for the physical functioning sub-
scale and 087 for the mental functioning subscale.
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
3356 Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362
N Kuru and G Kublay
Pilot study
A small pilot study was performed to assess the content
validity of the data collection forms and to evaluate the
efficacy of the intervention at a private nursing home differ-
ent from that of the study group. The researcher informed
all participants about the aim of the study, and the pilot
study was conducted with 10 nursing home residents who
voluntarily agreed to take part in the research. Before the
intervention, the socio-demographic form and SF-36 Health
Survey were applied; each took 15 minutes to complete on
average. Four sessions of laughter therapy were applied on
28 January and 29 January 2015. Following the therapy,
the SF-36 Health Survey was administered again as a post-
test. No changes were made to the study protocol as a
result of the pilot study.
Laughter therapy programme
The researcher participated in a ‘Laughter Yoga’ course on
21 September 2014 and received a certificate for comple-
tion of the course. The laughter therapy programme was
planned by the researcher. The programme comprised 21
sessions twice weekly. Each session took 30–45 minutes.
Sessions consisted of various combinations of the follow-
ing:
•warm-up exercises (stretching of facial and body mus-
cles) for 10 minutes
•hand clapping using the 1–2, 1–2–3, Ho–Ho, Ha–Ha–
Ha rhythm
•deep breathing exercises
•laughter exercises (cell phone, admiration, hot soup
laughter, hug laughter, bird laughter, dialogue with non-
sense, speech exercises, laugh at one’s own aches and
pains exercises, milkshake laughter exercises, lion laugh-
ter, greeting laughter, argument laughter, bugi laughter
techniques, brushing teeth and mouthwash exercises)
•watching a film (Patch Adams and Hababam Sınıfı)
•playing games (the first participant was asked to say
her/his name, and then, the participant beside her/him
was asked to share both her/his name and the name of
the first participant; the children’s game ‘peekaboo’)
•singing songs
•wishes (participants were asked to hold hands and make
a wish and then to rejoice as if their wishes had come
true after making a wish. It was observed that some
older adults showed their happiness by smiling and
others showed it by standing up)
•laughter meditation
When the sessions were completed, participation certifi-
cates were delivered to participants of the experimental and
control groups for their attendance.
Data analysis
Means, standard deviations, frequencies, percentages, medi-
ans, minimums and maximums were the descriptive statis-
tics calculated. Since the difference between the total scores
of both the experimental and control group before and after
laughter therapy showed normal distributions, these score
differences were assessed by paired t-test. Mann–Whitney
U-tests were used for some subscales (before laughter ther-
apy: physical functioning, role functioning and emotional
functioning; after laughter therapy: physical functioning,
role functioning, emotional functioning, mental component
score) that did not show a normal distribution. Independent
two-sample t-tests were used for some subscales (before
laughter therapy: bodily pain, general health, physical com-
ponent score, mental health, social functioning, vitality,
mental component score and total score; after laughter ther-
apy: bodily pain, general health, physical component score,
mental health, social functioning, vitality and total score)
that showed a normal distribution. For all tests, p<005
was the standard for statistical significance.
Ethical considerations
Hacettepe University Ethical Committee of Clinical Studies
approved this study on 17 December 2014 (No. 16969557/
18). Before the study began, all participants were informed
about the study aim and procedures. Written informed con-
sent was obtained from all participants.
Results
Socio-demographic characteristics of older adults who par-
ticipated in the study are presented in Table 1. Half of the
participants in the experimental group were women, and
the other half were men, while the control group consisted
of 15 women (455%) and 18 men (555%). Twenty-two
(687%) residents in both the experimental and control
groups were aged 60–79 years old. There were 16 widows
(50%) in the experimental group and 15 widows (455%)
in the control group. Most residents (n=10, 313%) in the
experimental group were high school graduates, while most
(n=16, 485%) participants in the control group were pri-
mary school graduates. For both the experimental and con-
trol groups, civil servant retirement funds were most
common (n=13, 406%; and n=13, 394%; respectively).
According to their own statements, 26 participants in the
experimental group (906%) and 28 members of the control
group (8480%) had regular income.
Table 2 presents SF-36 scores before and after laughter
therapy for the experimental and control groups. There was
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362 3357
Original article Laughter therapy and Quality of life
no significant difference (p=0892) between mean general
quality-of-life scores for the experimental (8932 2063)
and control groups (9006 2162). In addition, there was
no significant difference between mean quality-of-life sub-
scale scores of the experimental and control groups
(p>005). Therefore, before laughter therapy, quality-
of-life scores of the experimental and control groups were
similar. After laughter therapy, a statistically significant dif-
ference (p<001) was found between mean general qual-
ity-of-life scores of the experimental group
(12518 1149) and control group (9300 2078),
respectively. Quality of life of the experimental group after
laughter therapy increased. After laughter therapy, a statis-
tically significant difference was found between mean sub-
scale scores for the experimental and control group
(p<005). All quality-of-life subscale scores of older adults
in the experimental group increased after laughter therapy.
Discussion
Research evaluating the effect of laughter therapy on the
quality of life of nursing home residents has been limited. In
this study, the quality of life of nursing home residents
increased after a laughter therapy intervention. Previous
experimental and quasi-experimental studies have demon-
strated that laughter therapy increases the quality of life and
positive emotions of residents and that they feel better both
physically and mentally after laughter therapy (Lebowitz
2002, Hirosaki et al. 2013, Ko & Hyun 2013, Ganz &
Jacobs 2014, Cha & Hong 2015). Thus, findings of previous
research are parallel to the findings of this study.
This study demonstrated a statistically significant differ-
ence between the physical functioning subscale scores of the
experimental group before and after laughter therapy
(Table 2). In a randomised controlled study by Keykhaho-
seinpoor et al. (2013), carried out with older adults with
Parkinson’s disease, a statistically significant difference in
motor functions of older adults was found after a laughter
therapy intervention. A Hatha Yoga programme, used with
individuals aged 35–60 years old, positively affected the bal-
ance and elasticity of older adults (Galantino et al. 2004).
In this study, the experimental group’s role-physical sub-
scales scores were significantly different before and after the
laughter therapy intervention (Table 2). Supekar et al.
(2014) studied the role of laughter therapy clubs in
increased social health and found significant differences
between the role-physical subscale scores of the experimen-
tal and control groups. This result also supported the pre-
sent research findings.
In this study, after laughter therapy, bodily pain subscale
scores of residents were significantly different (Table 2). Tse
et al. (2010) studied older adults in a nursing home and
found that pain scores after a laughter therapy intervention
decreased. In another study in which laughter therapy was
applied, bodily pain of the experimental and control group
showed statistically significant differences (Supekar et al.
2014), supporting the present study’s results. Thus, it is possi-
ble that laughter therapy decreases nursing home residents’
bodily pain through yoga exercises and regular exercise.
General health subscale scores of the experimental group
were found to be significantly different after the laughter
therapy intervention (Table 2). Ghodsbin et al. (2015)
Table 1 Descriptive characteristics of the study population
Characteristic
Experimental
Group
Control
Group
n%n%
Gender
Female 16 50015455
Male 16 50018555
Age
50–59 3 946182
60–69 13 4069273
70–79 9 28113394
80–89 7 2195152
Marital Status
Single 2 630 7 212
Married 7 2195152
Widowed 16 50015455
Divorced 7 2196182
Education
Illiterate 4 1254121
Literate 3 94391
Primary school 5 15616485
Secondary school 4 1254121
High school 10 3134121
University 6 18826
1
Occupational Status
Sales and related 1 30270
Casual worker 4 1204130
Professional 4 12011320
Civil servant 7 2105160
Unskilled worker 4 125140
Unemployed 13 4009280
Social Security
Social insurance institution 12 3756182
Green card 0 00261
Self-employed institution 5 1569273
Retirement fund 13 40613394
No 2 63391
Income Status
Yes 29 906288480
No 3 9451520
Total 32 1000 33 1000
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
3358 Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362
N Kuru and G Kublay
evaluated the effect of laughter therapy on the general
health of older adults and found that general health scores
were significantly different after laughter therapy. Similarly,
another study found a direct relationship between health
status and humour, thus suggesting humour as a method to
help older adults to stay healthy (Celso et al. 2003).
The spiritual health subscale of the SF-36 evaluates the
calm, happy, relaxed, nervous and depressed moods of indi-
viduals. In this study, the spiritual health subscale of nurs-
ing home residents increased after the intervention. Lee and
Eun (2011) assessed the relationships between sleeping,
depression and pain on the quality of life of older adults
living in long-term nursing homes. A significant effect of
laughter therapy was found for depression. In studies of
laughter therapy activities with patients with depressive
symptoms, a decrease in depression and bad mood of older
adults was seen after laughter therapy (Hirsch et al. 2010,
Konradt et al. 2013).
The role-emotional subscale scores were also shown to
differ after laughter therapy (Table 2). Likewise, research
has shown statistically significant decreases in anxiety levels
of older adults after laughter therapy (Houston et al. 1998,
Marziali et al. 2008). Krebs et al. (2014) evaluated the
effect of laughter therapy on the behaviours of older adults
and found a decrease in stress scores when spiritual condi-
tion and energy significantly were increased. This research
supports the findings of the present study.
Although old age brings about physical constraints, older
adults can still be active (Lewis 2003). In this study, social
functioning of residents increased after the intervention. An
increase in interactions among older adults has been shown
in studies evaluating laughter therapy (Everard et al. 2000,
Low et al. 2013). Laughter therapy performed as a group
activity also increases interactions among older adults
(Kataria 2011).
In this study, the vitality subscale scores of residents in the
experimental group were significantly different after laughter
therapy (Table 2). Deshpande and Verma (2013) study, which
reviewed the effect of quality-of-life therapy on happiness and
life satisfaction, found that life satisfaction and happiness
scores of older adults in an experimental group were signifi-
cantly higher than those in a control group. In other research,
negative feelings scores after laughter therapy were lower and
life satisfaction scores were higher (Song et al. 2013).
Conclusion
In this study, after laughter therapy, quality-of-life total and
subscale scores (physical functioning, role-physical, role-emo-
tional, bodily pain, general health, spiritual health, social func-
tioning, vitality) increased among residents living in a nursing
home. According to these results, it can be said that laughter
therapy can be used to increase the quality of life of nursing
home residents. Future research to evaluate the effect of laugh-
ter therapy on the quality of life of residents should employ a
randomised control group experimental design. In addition, a
wider sample of participants from nursing homes with different
socio-cultural structures will aid generalisability of findings.
Relevance to clinical practice
The results indicated that the laughter therapy programme
had a positive effect on the quality of life of nursing home resi-
dents. Nurses can use laughter therapy as an intervention to
improve the quality of life of residents living in nursing homes.
Acknowledgements
The authors desire to thank all the participants in the
study. And also, we also like to extend our deep
Table 2 Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores of the experimental and control groups before and after the laughter therapy intervention
SF-36 Scale
Experimental Group Control Group
PvaluePretest Post-test Pretest Post-test
Physical Functioning 2163 599 2628 397 2176 603 2157 531 0000
Role Functioning 516 168 762 118 488 157 509 180 0000
Bodily Pain 628 275 1018 114 661 224 760 234 0000
General Health 1491 356 1818 245 1548 376 1493 359 0000
Physical Component Score 4797 1069 6228 665 4873 1087 4921 1040 0000
Mental Health 195604 2540 373 1927 565 179627 0000
Emotional Functioning 384 122 571 0728 388 131 387 136 0000
Social Functioning 603 220 912 950 612 140 666 197 0000
Vitality 1200 497 2018 393 1206 647 1187 604 0000
Mental Component Score 4138 1225 6043 722 4133 1284 4033 1336 0000
General Score 8934 2063 12518 1149 9006 2162 9300 2078 0000
©2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Journal of Clinical Nursing,26, 3354–3362 3359
Original article Laughter therapy and Quality of life
appreciation to Professor Oya Nuran Emiro
glu and Associ-
ate Professor Serg€
ul Duygulu for their assistances.
Contributions
NK: Study design; data collection and analysis; and manu-
script preparation.GK: Study design and manuscript pre-
paration.
Funding
For this study, no funding was received.
Conflict of Interest
No conflict of interest has been declared by the authors.
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