Humor intervention program for children with chronic diseases

Abstract

Purpose: This study developed and implemented a humor intervention program for school-aged children with chronic diseases.

Methods: Thirty-three children with atopic dermatitis and type 1 diabetes were divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group included 17 children while the control group included 16 children. The experimental group participated in 6 weekly sessions of a 60-minute humor intervention. The subject and type of humorous material was collected from a survey of parents and children. Outcome measures assessed pre- and post-intervention included stress, behavior profile scores, and resilience.

Results: There was a significant decrease in behavior problems and increase in resiliency in experimental group compared to control group. There was no difference in stress cortisol measures between the groups.

Conclusions: This study was the first to examine a humor intervention for children with chronic diseases in South Korea and offers practical implications for humor interventions in pediatric nursing.

Keywords: Behavior problems; Humor intervention program; Resilience; School-aged children; Stress.