In this research, laughter therapy applied to hemodialysis patients; This is an experimental design with pretest and posttest control groups in order to examine the effects on serum cortisol levels, depression, anxiety, stress levels and quality of life. The study will be conducted between March 2023 and June 2023 on 80 patients who are receiving hemodialysis treatment in two Dialysis Centers in Zonguldak city center and meet the inclusion criteria. Introductory information form, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale, Kidney Disease Quality of Life Form will be used in the study and blood samples will be taken from the patients for cortisol. Laughter therapy will be applied three days a week, for a total of 12 sessions for 4 weeks.
Internet-based behavioral therapy applications made during the quarantine and isolation period during the pandemic process, and the application of laughter therapy, which is a group-oriented technique that increases the feeling of togetherness and happiness, can be used as an online method to reach large masses. However, since there are a limited number of studies in the literature on online laughter therapy in patients and not all sessions are online in the study, it was thought that more and methodological studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of the therapy on the applicability of the online platform. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the blood cortisol levels, depression, anxiety, stress levels and quality of life of laughter therapy in hemodialysis patients.