Humor intervention program for children with chronic diseases

PurposeThis study developed and implemented a humor intervention program for school-aged children with chronic diseases.MethodsThirty-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.ResultsThere 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.ConclusionsThis 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.