Beneficios de la terapia de la risa en los niveles de depresión en niños diagnosticados con cáncer: estudio de caso

BACKGROUND: Pediatric cancer emotionally affects infants causing depression which must be intervened in a timely manner as an essential part of the treatment. Therefore, the present study sought to identify the benefits of laughter therapy on the levels of depression in children diagnosed with cancer in a foundation in Cali, Colombia. METHODS: The sample consisted of six children undergoing cancer treatment, aged between eight and twelve years. The Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and three laughter therapy workshops were applied. A descriptive analysis was performed, with measures of central tendency for quantitative variables and absolute and relative frequencies for categorical variables. RESULTS: The results indicated that 83% of the children presented an emotional problem due to the disease; favorable changes were evidenced in the depression scores after the laughter therapy interventions. CONCLUSIONS: It is concluded that laughter therapy is an effective non-pharmacological treatment when combined with workshops aimed at strengthening the expression of emotions, self-esteem and life project, which not only improves the health of children, but also prevents and reduces the appearance of emotional disorders.