The Effect of Laughter Therapy on Nursing Students

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The aim of this study is to determine the effect of laughter therapy on the general health status, sleep quality, and stress level of nursing students.

Detailed Description
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H1.1: Students who receive laughter therapy will have lower mean scores in the general health questionnaire than students who do not receive laughter therapy. H1.2: Students who receive laughter therapy will have a lower Pittsburgh sleep quality index score than students who do not receive laughter therapy. H1.3: Students who receive laughter therapy will have a lower mean stress level than students who do not receive laughter therapy.

Official Title
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The Effect of Laughter Therapy on the General Health Status, Sleep Quality, and Stress Level of Nursing Students

Conditions
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Mental Stress, Insomnia, Sleep Disorder, Mental Health Disorder

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Laughter Therapy


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Volunteering to participate in research Being a 1st or 2nd-year student in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing Not have any health problems that may create a communication barrier Being in a quiet environment to participate in the online study due to the pandemic period Have an internet connection to attend online sessions Exclusion Criteria: Having undergone abdominal surgery in the past three months Having a disability to attend regular sessions

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 23 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Laughter Therapy Group<br>A pre-test was administered to all students. In the pre-test application, the Descriptive Information Form, General Health Questionnaire-28, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Perceived Stress Scale were applied. Experimental and control groups were formed randomly among the students who filled all the scales. Communication groups were established for the students in both groups without being told which group they belonged to. Considering the hours suitable for the experimental group, 8 sessions of laughter therapy were applied for an average of 45 minutes. At the end of the therapy in the last session, a post-test was administered to all of the students. In the post-test application, the Descriptive Information Form, General Health Questionnaire-28, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Perceived Stress Scale were applied. | Behavioral: Laughter Therapy<br>* The effect of the Laughter Therapy on nursing students<br>|
| No Intervention: Control Group<br>In the pre-test application, the Descriptive Information Form, General Health Questionnaire-28, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Perceived Stress Scale were applied. At the end of the therapy in the last session, a post-test was administered to all students. In the post-test application, the Descriptive Information Form, General Health Questionnaire-28, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and Perceived Stress Scale were applied. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Introductory Information Form | It was prepared by the researchers in line with the literature in order to collect data about the individual characteristics of the participants. Form; family structure, gender, income status, marital status, health status, age, etc. It consists of 13 items (pretest-posttest design was applied). | 2 minutes | 
| General Health Questionnaire-28 (GHQ-28) | It was prepared to detect mental health problems. Individuals who score below 5 on the scale are evaluated as normal, while individuals who score 5 and above are considered as a risk group in terms of mental health (pretest-posttest design was applied). | 5 minutes | 
| Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PUKI) | Poor sleep quality is expressed for individuals who score 5 and above from the scale. The scale consists of 24 items that evaluate sleep quality and disorders by scoring over a one-month period (pretest-posttest design was applied). | 5 minutes | 
| Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) | The scale, which was prepared to evaluate the perceived stress level of the individual, consists of 14 items. High scores obtained from the scale indicate that the person has a high perception of stress(pretest-posttest design was applied). | 3 minutes | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Sleep Quality, Psychological Stress, General Health, Nursing Students, Laughter Therapy