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

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, <i>x</i><sup>2</sup> 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, <i>p</i><.001) and self-efficacy (t=2.65, <i>p</i>=.010). However, there was no significant difference found in medication adherence (t=-0.11, <i>p</i>=.077).Conclusion: These findings indicate that the laughter therapy program effectively enhanced hope and self-efficacy among middle-aged female psychiatric inpatients. Future interventions should consider incorporating strategies to enhance medication adherence as well, as this would ultimately contribute to the development of comprehensive mental health nursing interventions for middle-aged women.