Level of knowledge about laughter therapy in nursing professionals

Abstract

Laughter therapy, recognized as a psychotherapeutic technique that uses laughter to promote physical, psychological and social benefits, is a complementary strategy in health care. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge about laughter therapy in nursing professionals. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional design study was carried out, with a simple descriptive level. The results showed that 84.6% of the participants reached a medium level of knowledge about laughter therapy, while 7.7% presented low and high levels respectively. In the dimensions, physical and psychological well-being showed a predominance of medium level with 69.2%, and social well-being registered 61.5% at medium level and 30.8% at high level. The specific laughter therapy dimension had 76.9% at medium level. It was concluded that, although general knowledge is intermediate, there are opportunities to strengthen it, particularly in the specific dimensions of the technique.