A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Laughter Therapy on Depression among Elderly People in Selected Old Age Homes at Mangalore

Many older adults find themselves more alone than ever before as longstanding friends and relatives die and family and friends relocate to different geographical areas. If entry into residential care is necessary, older adults become more isolated. The most common emotional disorder in the elderly population is depression. A study to assess the effectiveness of laughter therapy on depression among elderly people in selected old age homes at Mangalore.The main objective of the study to determine the effectiveness of laughter therapy among experimental group. The conceptual framework adopted for the study was based on the framework of Roy's adaptation model. The study design was two group pre-test post- test design. The population of the study was elderly people at selected old age homes at Mangalore.Purposive sampling technique was used for selecting the study subjects. The sample comprised of 60 samples above the age of 60 years .The tool used for the study were demographic proforma and modified Geriatric Depression Scale. The study result showed that the mean post-test depression scores (11.97) was apparently lower than the mean pre-test depression score (16.97). The pre-test depression score rocked to 43.3% for the moderate level of depression while the post-test depression score reached an all-time high of 63.3% for the mild level of depression. There was a significant difference between pre-test depression score and the post-test depression scores (t= 37.696, p < 0.05).The pre-test depression score was independent of all the demographic variables such as age, gender, religion, marital status, years of stay in old age home, any illness. The findings of the study shows that the intervention programme was effective in reducing the depression among elderly people.