Development and Effects of a Laughter Therapy Program for Middle-aged Women Hospitalized in Psychiatric Wards

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to develop and implement a laughter therapy program for middle-aged women hospitalized in psychiatric wards and evaluate its effects on their hope, self-efficacy, and medication adherence. Methods: This study employed a non-equivalent control pre–post quasi-experimental design. Sixty middle-aged female psychiatric inpatients were enrolled in total, with 30 in the experimental group and 30 in the control group. The experimental group participated in laughter therapy sessions twice a week for a total of eight 60-minute sessions. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, x2 test, and repeated measures analysis of variance using SPSS/Win 20.0. Results: Following the implementation of the laughter therapy program, significant differences were observed between the experimental and control groups in hope (t=-0.21, p