Effectiveness of laughter therapy on depression

Depression is a major public health problem in India. In India over 5 crore Indians are suffered from depression. Now a day's depression is most common among elderly people. It is very important to reduce the depression level, for that they should have some fun and enjoyments or relaxation therapies in their life. The objectives are to assess the level of depression and effectiveness of laughter therapy on depression and to associate between level of depression and laughter therapy among HIV infected elderly people with selected demographic data. We were selected 30 HIV infected elderly people from selected old age home. A Structured Modified Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (MDASS) were used to assess the level of depression. Convenient purposive sampling technique was used. Data was collected through questionnaire. There was a significant association (p<0.05) between laughter therapy and depression among HIV infected elderly people with selected demographic variables. The study shows that the HIV infected elderly people have extremely severe and severe depression. This can be effectively managed through laughter therapy.