It's the Moments That Matter.

Brief encounters and events can sometimes change lives.

The Effects of a Humor Intervention on the Physiological, Physical, and Psychological Responses of School-aged Children With Atopic Dermatitis in South Korea: A Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: We examined the effects of a humor intervention on the physiological, physical, and psychological responses of school-aged children with atopic dermatitis. DESIGN AND METHODS: This quasi-experimental study used a nonequivalent control group and a pre- and post-test design. Forty-five schoolchildren participated. RESULTS: Children in the experimental group (n=26) received a humor intervention and reported significant differences in physiological response, which was evidenced by heightened salivary immunoglobulin A levels as compared to the control group (n=19). Additionally, the psychological response of the experimental group was significantly different from that of the control group as evidenced by decreased stress levels. CONCLUSION: Humor intervention may be an effective nursing intervention for children with atopic dermatitis.

The effect of laughter therapy on the quality of life of nursing home residents.

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 experimental 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 experimental group significantly increased in comparison with the pretest. CONCLUSION: Laughter therapy improved the quality of life of nursing home residents. 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 programme 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.

Humor and laughter in persons with cognitive impairment and their caregivers.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe humor and laughter in persons with cognitive impairment (PWCI) and caregivers who were recalling a shared experience in a focus group. DESIGN: Twenty participants attended an Art Engagement Activity at the Andy Warhol Art Museum, which included a guided tour and an art project. All PWCI had medically diagnosed cognitive disorders and all caregiver participants did not. Four focus groups were conducted and transcripts of audio-recorded sessions were transferred to a qualitative software program. METHOD: Words, phrases, and episodes of humor and laughter were used to construct codes, which were refined during group analysis using constant comparison. FINDINGS: Humor and laughter were present in all four focus groups. Emerging themes of humor included silliness, sarcasm, and commenting about hardships of dementia. Laughter was identified in segments with and without humor. Some PWCI were unable to follow social cues. CONCLUSIONS: Humor and laughter played a role in creating a safe social environment. PWCI were able to engage in humor during social interactions, yet some had difficulty recognizing social cues. Further study may reveal roles of humor and laughter in adaptation to cognitive decline and holistic interventions for improved quality of life.

The Sensitivity Training Clown Workshop: enhancing therapeutic communication skills in nursing students.

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the long-term effectiveness of the Sensitivity Training Clown Workshop (STCW) provided to 131 baccalaureate nursing students. BACKGROUND: The STCW was designed and implemented through a collaboration between the artistic director of the Big Apple Circus and nurse faculty to help students understand emotions, learn peripheral awareness skills, and become engaged with patients. METHOD: Forty participants responded to an 18-month follow-up evaluation survey. RESULTS: The majority of participants reported applying lessons learned in the workshop in their current practice, regardless of their area of nursing employment. CONCLUSION: The STCW is an effective method of educating nursing students for pediatric practice. The techniques used in the workshop are applicable to other practice settings.

Terapia de la risa. En el dolor crónico músculo-esquelético / Laughter Therapy for chronic skeletal muscular pain

Se explican los efectos de la introducción de talleres de risoterapia y relajación en una unidad de educación terapéutica y rehabilitación funcional, y se comprueba si su aplicación ayuda a disminuir el dolor, mejorar la movilidad y reducir el estado emocional alterado (ansiedad-depresión) del paciente(AU)

The authors explain the effects introducing workshops for laughter therapy and relaxation to a unit dedicated to therapeutic education and functional rehabilitation; the authors test to see if the application of this therapy hepls to decrease pain, to improve mobility and to reduce na altered emotional state, such as anxiety-depression, common among chronic pain patients(AU)

Sentido del humor y fundamentos clown como herramientas en los Cuidados Paliativos / No disponible

Cada vez aparecen más artículos científicos que avalan los beneficios del sentido del humor para los pacientes. Con estas inquietudes, muchos hospitales organizan visitas de clowns a niños sin incluir a adultos o personas en situación terminal. Tanto estos pacientes como los profesionales que trabajamos en el campo de la salud nos podemos beneficiar del humor como herramienta en la comunicación o la gestión del estrés. La sinceridad, transparencia, capacidad comunicativa y la relación con el fracaso, son características del clown extrapolables a la labor sanitaria que nos pueden ilustrar las posibilidades de la aplicación del humor. Para descubrir sus beneficios, mecanismos, algunas técnicas de los clowns y nuestro propio humor, organizamos en la Escuela de Enfermería de la Universidad de las Islas Baleares un taller sobre el sentido del humor. En este artículo presentamos el marco teórico del taller abordando uno de sus puntos más interesantes y delicados: su utilidad en los cuidados paliativos

Scientific papers are increasingly frequent that endorse the benefits of humor in caring for patients. With these concerns, too many hospitals are organizing groups of clowns to visit admitted children, even if they do not include adults or people who might be terminally ill in these visits. Both these groups of people, as well as health care professionals, may benefit from humor as a special tool in communication or stress management. Sincerity, transparency, communicative capacity, and relationship to failure are clown characteristics applicable to health work, and they can help us explain the opportunities for the application of humor. In order to know more about the benefits and mechanisms of some clowning skills and clown humor, we organized a humor workshop in the Nursing School at Balearic Islands University. In this article we present the theoretical framework of the workshop, and touch upon one of its most interesting and delicate issues: its use in palliative care

Dying art.

Working in a hospice gives nurses the opportunity to make patients' end of life peaceful, dignified and pain free.

A personal reflection: humor--I'd rather laugh than cry.

This article examines the benefits of humor in both our personal and professional lives. Strategies to promote humor are also discussed.

Humor and older adults: what makes them laugh?

Laughter, the physical response to perceived humor, has demonstrated positive effects on physical and psychological well-being. Studies that focus on effects of humor on health and well-being of older adults are scarce. No studies were found that examine what older adults find humorous. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the humor stimulus in a population of older adults. One hundred thirty (130) hospital auxiliary personnel aged 50 and older were asked the question What makes you laugh? Content analysis of responses revealed nine themes in two major categories, which were (a) people or animals and (b) situations or events. Children represented the largest category of people (30%), and telling jokes represented the largest category of situations or events (51%). Humor can be used by nurses as an effective therapeutic tool when caring for older adults if appropriate sources of humor are identified and applied.

The impact of humor on patients with cancer.

Using the Stetler model, in-depth literature reviews were performed that demonstrated a positive correlation between humor and comfort levels in patients with cancer. Humor frequently was used for relaxation and as a coping mechanism that aided in promoting general wellness. The literature indicated that various types of humorous material lessened anxiety and discomfort, which allowed for patients' concerns and fears to be discussed openly. The literature also showed that humor had a positive effect on the immune system. Improvements in pain thresholds and elevations in natural killer cell activity consistently appeared in quantitative experimental studies. In addition, measurements of specific neuroendocrine and stress hormone levels revealed biochemical changes that suggested improved physical stress responses and increased feelings of well-being after humorous interventions. This article has implications for nurses because humor can be an effective intervention that impacts the health and well-being of patients with cancer.