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 effect of laughter therapy and mindfulness practices upon nurses' fatigue perceptions, attention and work performance levels will be explored.

Inclusion Criteria:Working as a nurse for at least 6 months in the hospital where the research will be conducted,Volunteering to participate in the study,It is a shift/alternate work.Exclusion Criteria:Being a non-nursing staff (midwife, health technician, physician, etc.),Being pregnant,Having been diagnosed with color blindness,Being allowed or reported in the process of data collection,Continuous day or night work,Participating in individual psychotherapy or group intervention programsHaving been diagnosed with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and arrhythmia,Having experience in taking medication and meditation for psychiatric reasons.