Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults

The present study examined the effectiveness of a humor therapy program in relieving chronic pain, enhancing happiness and life satisfaction, and reducing loneliness among older persons with chronic pain. It was a quasiexperimental pretest-posttest controlled design. Older persons in a nursing home...

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Main Authors: Mimi M. Y. Tse, Anna P. K. Lo, Tracy L. Y. Cheng, Eva K. K. Chan, Annie H. Y. Chan, Helena S. W. Chung
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2010-01-01
Series:Journal of Aging Research
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2010/343574
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author Mimi M. Y. Tse
Anna P. K. Lo
Tracy L. Y. Cheng
Eva K. K. Chan
Annie H. Y. Chan
Helena S. W. Chung
author_facet Mimi M. Y. Tse
Anna P. K. Lo
Tracy L. Y. Cheng
Eva K. K. Chan
Annie H. Y. Chan
Helena S. W. Chung
author_sort Mimi M. Y. Tse
collection DOAJ
description The present study examined the effectiveness of a humor therapy program in relieving chronic pain, enhancing happiness and life satisfaction, and reducing loneliness among older persons with chronic pain. It was a quasiexperimental pretest-posttest controlled design. Older persons in a nursing home were invited to join an 8-week humor therapy program (experimental group), while those in another nursing home were treated as a control group and were not offered the program. There were 36 older people in the experimental group and 34 in the control group. Upon completion of the humor therapy program, there were significant decreases in pain and perception of loneliness, and significant increases in happiness and life satisfaction for the experimental group, but not for the control group. The use of humor therapy appears to be an effective nonpharmacological intervention. Nurses and other healthcare professionals could incorporate humor in caring for their patients.
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series Journal of Aging Research
spelling doaj-art-3cbcd44f531546fbba901666c28ba4e32025-08-20T03:55:37ZengWileyJournal of Aging Research2090-22122010-01-01201010.4061/2010/343574343574Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older AdultsMimi M. Y. Tse0Anna P. K. Lo1Tracy L. Y. Cheng2Eva K. K. Chan3Annie H. Y. Chan4Helena S. W. Chung5School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong KongDepartment of Medicine, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong KongDepartment of Medicine, Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital, Hong KongDepartment of Surgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong KongDepartment of Medicine, Tseng Kwan O Hospital, Hong KongDepartment of Medicine, Tuen Mum Hospital, Hong KongThe present study examined the effectiveness of a humor therapy program in relieving chronic pain, enhancing happiness and life satisfaction, and reducing loneliness among older persons with chronic pain. It was a quasiexperimental pretest-posttest controlled design. Older persons in a nursing home were invited to join an 8-week humor therapy program (experimental group), while those in another nursing home were treated as a control group and were not offered the program. There were 36 older people in the experimental group and 34 in the control group. Upon completion of the humor therapy program, there were significant decreases in pain and perception of loneliness, and significant increases in happiness and life satisfaction for the experimental group, but not for the control group. The use of humor therapy appears to be an effective nonpharmacological intervention. Nurses and other healthcare professionals could incorporate humor in caring for their patients.http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2010/343574
spellingShingle Mimi M. Y. Tse
Anna P. K. Lo
Tracy L. Y. Cheng
Eva K. K. Chan
Annie H. Y. Chan
Helena S. W. Chung
Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
Journal of Aging Research
title Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
title_full Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
title_fullStr Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
title_full_unstemmed Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
title_short Humor Therapy: Relieving Chronic Pain and Enhancing Happiness for Older Adults
title_sort humor therapy relieving chronic pain and enhancing happiness for older adults
url http://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2010/343574
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