Effects o Laughing Qigong Program on Psychological Outcomes and the Physiological Immunological Responses

National Taipei University of Nursing and Health Sciences

Status: Completed

Conditions: Breast Cancer Survivors

Treatments: Behavioral: The principle of laughter plus Qigong

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05793710

IRB-201311HM023

Details and patient eligibility

About

Laughter programs are safe, affordable, and age-appropriate activities. Few studies have utilized mixed study designs to look at the impact on resilience in and experiences of participants in such activities.

Full description

The laughing qigong program is a physical and mental practice program that combines qigong and laughter. It is influenced by Chinese local culture. It emphasizes the transformation of voice, body, and emotional use so that people can experience relaxation and tranquility, and then the transformation of emotions so that physical and mental energy can be released then to achieve balance. Our research has shown that laughter-related psychological interventions have consistent effects on mental health, reducing mood conditions under life stress (Grace, 2013), depressed mood (Hsieh et al., 2015), and cortisol concentration (Grace, 2013). However, there have only been a few studies where similar protocols focused on positive mental states (e.g. resilience, well-being) and the application of laughing in immune function.

Therefore, the current quasi-experimental trial was to investigate the effects of the LQP on psychological outcomes (resilience and well-being), mucosal immunity (salivary immunoglobulin A, s-IgA), and immune-inflammatory index (interleukins, IL-6) amongst breast cancer survivors. We hypothesized that (a) experimental group participants would have significantly higher levels of resilience and well-being at baseline (before the test) and post-treatment (post-test) compared to the wait list control group; (b) Compared to the control group on the wait list, experimental group participants will have significant differences in mucosal immunity (s-IgA) and inflammatory index (IL-6) before and after the test; and (c) experimental group membership had a significant effect on psychological outcomes (resilience and well-being) as well as mucosal immunity (s-IgA) and immune-inflammatory indices (IL-6) after a 12-week LQP intervention

Enrollment: 71 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. female adult (18 years old); 2) diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer; 3) major treatment completed at least 3 months ago (i.e. surgery, chemotherapy, and/or radiotherapy); and 4) no communication difficulties (visual and auditory).

Exclusion criteria

1. having recurrent or metastatic breast cancer; 2) being involved in other studies at the same time, 3) patients who are unable to cooperate with the trial and follow-up; and 4) having a history of mental illness in past 3 months (major depression disorder)..

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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71 participants in 2 patient groups

the principle of laughter plus Qigong

Experimental group

Description:

The basic method of " LQP " is the principle of laughter plus Qigong, combined with the sound of laughter, stretching the body, thereby activating the parasympathetic nerve, so that the body can automatically relax, and at the same time guide the individual to face their own emotions when facing pressure, and transform emotions into positive energy or relieve negative emotions through practice, so as to achieve the energy balance of body, mind and spirit.

Treatment:

Behavioral: The principle of laughter plus Qigong

their current lifestyle for a 12-week

No Intervention group

Description:

After baseline testing, participants in the waitlist control group (CON) were asked to maintain their current lifestyle for a 12-week. Participants in the CON group will then undergo a 12-week fully supervised intervention.