The importance of humour and laughter

From the time of Nightingale in 1800-1900's, humour and laughter have been recognised as an important part of nursing practice. The literature review presents the use of humour and laughter in healthcare through the health benefits, different methods, social aspects and associated risks from different points of view. The aim of the literature review was to describe the use of humour and laughter in nursing care. The purpose was to promote humour and laughter in nursing care by providing up to date information. The data was searched using two online search engines, Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, CINAHL and PubMed. After identifying the possible data to be used, a data extraction was done, and the data that was extracted from the articles were chosen. The quality of the data was evaluated. After those steps the data was interpreted. Then deeper analysis concerning the collected studies were conducted. The findings of the studies were discussed and explained in the discussion. The focus for the search was to analyse how humour and laughter have been utilised in nursing care. The study is resulted from two points of view the patient and the nurse. In the results the two main themes that emerged were: the nurses' utilisation of humour and laughter in their work and humour and laughter in patient care. The analysis of the data from the selected articles led to the conclusion that humour and laughter are valuable in nursing care and healthcare in general. Nurses´ and patients´ alike, have experienced humour to have a positive impact when used appropriately. However, inappropriate use of humour may have a negative impact on the relationship between the nurse and the patient, thus compromising professionalism