Aim: To evaluate the effect of an 8-week humour intervention programme on reducing depression and anxiety and improving subjective well-being, cognitive function and sleep quality in nursing home residents.
Design: A single-blinded and quasi-experimental design with repeated measures.
Methods: Seventy-four older adults were recruited from May 2018-September 2018, with 37 older adults in the humour group received humour intervention and 37 in the control group received no intervention. The intervention was an 8-week humour intervention programme for older adults to learn to use humour and release their emotions. Primary outcomes include depression, anxiety and subjective well-being and secondary outcomes were cognitive function and sleep quality. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare the differences of outcome measures between the two groups. Outcomes were measured at baseline, 8 and 16 weeks.
Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups at baseline. The adherence to the sessions of humour intervention over the 8-weeks was 97.6%. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant improvement in depression, anxiety, subjective well-being and sleep quality during the postintervention (8 weeks) and follow-up (16 weeks) periods in the humour group versus the control group. However, a significant time × group interaction for cognitive function was only found during postintervention.
Conclusion: The humour intervention programme was effective in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms and increasing subjective well-being, cognitive function and sleep quality in older adults.
Impact: Physical and mental health problems are common among older adults in nursing homes. The study demonstrated that humour intervention has feasibility and potential to be used as an effective non-pharmacological intervention in improving well-beings of Chinese nursing home residents.
Trial registration: ChiCTR1800016148.
目标: 为了评估为期8周的幽默干预计划对减少疗养院老人的抑郁、焦虑、主观幸福感、认知功能和睡眠质量的影响。 设计: 重复测量的单盲准实验设计。 方法: 从2018年5月至2018年9月，共招募74位老年人，其中幽默组的37位老年人接受了幽默干预，对照组的37位未接受干预。这项干预是一项为期8周的幽默干预计划，旨在让老年人学习使用幽默并释放情绪。主要结果包括抑郁、焦虑和主观幸福感，次要结果包括认知功能和睡眠质量。采用双向重复测量方差分析比较两组结果的指标差异。在基线、第8周和16周测量结果。 结果: 基线时两组没有显著差异。在8周内，参加幽默干预的比例为97.6％。双向重复测量的方差分析显示，与对照组相比，幽默组在干预后（8周）和随访（16周）期间，抑郁、焦虑、主观幸福感和睡眠质量显著改善。但是，仅在干预后才发现认知功能有显著的时间×群体交互作用。 结论: 幽默干预计划可以有效减少老年人的抑郁和焦虑症状，提高主观幸福感、认知功能和睡眠质量。 影响: 在养老院中，老年人身体和心理健康问题十分普遍。研究表明，幽默干预具有可行性和潜力，可以用作改善中国养老院老人幸福感的有效非药物干预手段。 试验注册: ChiCTR1800016148。.
Keywords: anxiety; cognitive function; depression; humour intervention programme; nursing; older adults; sleep quality; subjective well-being.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.