Laughter Therapy and Mindfulness Practices

Laughter Therapy and Mindfulness Practices in Nurses

Nurses working by shifts under intense stress and pressure and using complicated technological products- undergo fatigue and attention deficit with the effect of the many negative factors caused by work setting. This threatens patient and staff safety as well as leads to communicational problems, work absenteeism, lowered motivation, inability to control stress and poor work performance and productivity among nurses as well. In this sense; laughter therapy and mindfulness practices may help nurses cope with these problems because some experimental studies proved that both methods showed many benefits in different samples. However; no studies in which these two methods were compared among nurses were encountered. Therefore; the study -being in experimental design and randomized controlled trial- will be undertaken with a total of 111 nurses employed at a university hospital -37 nurses allocated to the experimental 1 group, 37 nurses to the experimental 2 group and 37 nurses to the control group-. First; Computer-Based Sustained Attention Test, the Stroop Test Çapa Version, The Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ) and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire will be administered to the nurses of the experimental and control groups as a pre-test. Then; nurses of the experimental 1 group will join sessions of laughter therapy (30-45 minutes twice a week for 8 weeks) and nurses of the experimental 2 group will join sessions of mindfulness practices (45-60 minutes twice a week for 8 weeks) for two months. One month later when the sessions are started, a mid test will be administered and soon after the sessions are completed a post test will be administered to the nurses via Computer-Based Sustained Attention Test, the Stroop Test Çapa Version, The Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ) and Individual Work Performance Questionnaire. One month later after the post test; a follow-up will be performed using the same tools. As a result; the effects of both applications on fatigue, attention and performance will be investigated.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Nurse's Role
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: experimental group 1; Other: experimantal group 2

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 117
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Bayburt, Turkey
    • Bayburt University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• at least 6 months experience
• volunteering
• alternative work schedule

Exclusion Criteria:

• Not being a nurse,
• Pregnancy
• Diagnosis of colour blindness, cardiovascular, psychological diseases
• Meditating before

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group; No intervention was made in the control group.
Experimental: experimental group 1; The laughter therapy program consists of 16 sessions, twice a week for eight weeks. Each session; It is planned to last 30-45 minutes with a maximum of 25 nurses.	Other: experimental group 1; Laughter therapy, also called therapeutic laughter, is used to relieve pain and stress and to promote a general sense of well-being. Laughter therapy is simply a method of 'laughing for no reason' in which the person interacts in a group setting with improvisation or pantomime-like exercises and childish games without humour, jokes or funny events. The aim is thus to benefit from laughter.
Experimental: experimental group 2; The mindfulness practice program consists of 16 sessions, twice a week for eight weeks. Each session is planned to last 45-60 minutes with a maximum of 25 nurses.	Other: experimantal group 2; Mindfulness is purposefully drawing attention in the desired direction so that we can stay in the present moment without judgment. It is also defined as a conscious understanding of what is happening in the moment we live in with an open and loving attitude. According to another definition, mindfulness includes paying attention to what is happening in the present moment, noticing the quality of this attention, and accepting what is noticed without judgment. With conscious awareness, the individual discovers how to live in harmony with all the events that take place in the present moment, place and time, without any evaluation, rather than the sorrows and regrets of the past, the anxieties and worries of the future. Mindfulness helps us to relate to our experiences by enabling us to see the positive-negative, good-bad experiences we have had objectively.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stroop Test Çapa Form	The Stroop form developed by Weintraub in 2000 was adapted to Turkish by Emek Savaş et al. The test is used to determine the selective attention and reaction time of individuals. In the test, there are two stimulus cards and a total of 60 items placed on each card in the order of 6 x 10. The first card contains small rectangles of red, green and blue, while the second card has color names written in mismatched ink colors. The Stroop test is one of the most frequently used tests in neuropsychological evaluation. The fact that it can be applied to people of all age groups in a short time increases the preferability of the test.	First day
Personal Information Form	This form developed by the researcher consists of six questions about the characteristics of nurses.	First day
Chalder Fatigue Scale	The scale was developed in 1993 to measure the severity of fatigue. The scale has two sub-dimensions (physical and mental) and consists of 11 items. The total fatigue score is obtained by summing the scores of all items. Higher scores indicate greater severity of fatigue.	First day
Computer-Based Sustainable Attention Test	Developed in 2006, the test measures sustained attention at three levels: easy, medium and difficult. A minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10 are taken from each level. An increase in the test score indicates an increase in the level of sustained attention.	First day
Individual Job Performance Scale	The scale developed by Koopmans et al. in 2013 measures employee performance in three dimensions (task, contextual, counterproductive behaviour). The scale has 14 items and is a five-point Likert scale.	First day

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Stroop Test Çapa Form	The Stroop form developed by Weintraub in 2000 was adapted to Turkish by Emek Savaş et al. The test is used to determine the selective attention and reaction time of individuals. In the test, there are two stimulus cards and a total of 60 items placed on each card in the order of 6 x 10. The first card contains small rectangles of red, green and blue, while the second card has color names written in mismatched ink colors. The Stroop test is one of the most frequently used tests in neuropsychological evaluation. The fact that it can be applied to people of all age groups in a short time increases the preferability of the test.	At the end of the 1st month
Stroop Test Çapa Form	The Stroop form developed by Weintraub in 2000 was adapted to Turkish by Emek Savaş et al. The test is used to determine the selective attention and reaction time of individuals. In the test, there are two stimulus cards and a total of 60 items placed on each card in the order of 6 x 10. The first card contains small rectangles of red, green and blue, while the second card has color names written in mismatched ink colors. The Stroop test is one of the most frequently used tests in neuropsychological evaluation. The fact that it can be applied to people of all age groups in a short time increases the preferability of the test.	At the end of the 2st month
Stroop Test Çapa Form	The Stroop form developed by Weintraub in 2000 was adapted to Turkish by Emek Savaş et al. The test is used to determine the selective attention and reaction time of individuals. In the test, there are two stimulus cards and a total of 60 items placed on each card in the order of 6 x 10. The first card contains small rectangles of red, green and blue, while the second card has color names written in mismatched ink colors. The Stroop test is one of the most frequently used tests in neuropsychological evaluation. The fact that it can be applied to people of all age groups in a short time increases the preferability of the test.	At the end of the 3st month
Chalder Fatigue Scale	The scale was developed in 1993 to measure the severity of fatigue. The scale has two sub-dimensions (physical and mental) and consists of 11 items. The total fatigue score is obtained by summing the scores of all items. Higher scores indicate greater severity of fatigue.	At the end of the 1st month
Computer-Based Sustainable Attention Test	Developed in 2006, the test measures sustained attention at three levels: easy, medium and difficult. A minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10 are taken from each level. An increase in the test score indicates an increase in the level of sustained attention.	At the end of the 1st month
Individual Job Performance Scale	The scale developed by Koopmans et al. in 2013 measures employee performance in three dimensions (task, contextual, counterproductive behaviour). The scale has 14 items and is a five-point Likert scale.	At the end of the 1st month
Chalder Fatigue Scale	The scale was developed in 1993 to measure the severity of fatigue. The scale has two sub-dimensions (physical and mental) and consists of 11 items. The total fatigue score is obtained by summing the scores of all items. Higher scores indicate greater severity of fatigue.	At the end of the 2st month
Computer-Based Sustainable Attention Test	Developed in 2006, the test measures sustained attention at three levels: easy, medium and difficult. A minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10 are taken from each level. An increase in the test score indicates an increase in the level of sustained attention.	At the end of the 2st month
Individual Job Performance Scale	The scale developed by Koopmans et al. in 2013 measures employee performance in three dimensions (task, contextual, counterproductive behaviour). The scale has 14 items and is a five-point Likert scale.	At the end of the 2st month
Chalder Fatigue Scale	The scale was developed in 1993 to measure the severity of fatigue. The scale has two sub-dimensions (physical and mental) and consists of 11 items. The total fatigue score is obtained by summing the scores of all items. Higher scores indicate greater severity of fatigue.	At the end of the 3st month
Computer-Based Sustainable Attention Test	Developed in 2006, the test measures sustained attention at three levels: easy, medium and difficult. A minimum of 0 and a maximum of 10 are taken from each level. An increase in the test score indicates an increase in the level of sustained attention.	At the end of the 3st month
Individual Job Performance Scale	The scale developed by Koopmans et al. in 2013 measures employee performance in three dimensions (task, contextual, counterproductive behaviour). The scale has 14 items and is a five-point Likert scale.	At the end of the 3st month

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nagihan Koroglu Kaba
• Collaborators: The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 6, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 20, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): October 20, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 18, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 29, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): December 2, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 21, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 20, 2024
• Last Verified: August 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Mindfulness, Attention, Laughter therapy, Job performance, Fatigue
• Other Study ID Numbers: NKOROGLUKABA-TEZ-KTÜ

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No