Effect of Laughter Therapy on Surgical Stress, Oxygen Saturation, Pain and Comfort Level

Overview

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of laughter therapy based on Kolcaba comfort theory, on surgical stress, oxygen saturation, pain and comfort level in bariatric surgery patients. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is there a significant difference between salivary cortisol levels of patients with and without laughter yoga before surgical intervention? 2. Is there a significant difference between the blood glucose levels of patients who were and were not treated with laughter yoga before surgical intervention? 3. Is there a significant difference between the mean scores on the perceived stress scale of patients who were and were not treated with laughter yoga before surgical intervention? 4. Is there a significant difference between the oxygen saturation levels of patients with and without laughter yoga before surgical intervention? 5. Is there a significant difference between the mean scores on the comfort level scale of patients who were and were not treated with laughter yoga before surgical intervention? 6. Is there a significant difference between the mean scores on the pain scale of patients who were and were not treated with laughter yoga before surgical intervention? The study population will consist of patients who will apply to the general surgery clinic of Düzce University Research and Application Center between June 2023 and April 2024, who will undergo bariatric surgery and agree to participate in the study. The data collected from these patients will be analyzed. From the patients who meet the inclusion criteria and agree to participate in the study; experimental and control groups will be determined by simple randomization. They will be informed about the research (a 15-minute presentation prepared by the researcher explaining what laughter therapy is) and their verbal and written permission will be obtained. The laughter yoga will be applied to experimanetal group. Every laughter yoga practice is 45 minutes long and is planned 3 times a week for a total of 6 sessions. Control group patients will take only routine nursing care.