Purpose: This study investigated the spontaneous use of humor in hospice settings using non-participant observation. While humor has been identified as one of the few basic social phenomena occurring in all groups throughout human history, it is one of the least studied or understood phenomena of everyday interactions. Researchers in a number of disciplines have studied the impact of humor on patients, yet little work has been done on the spontaneous use of humor at end-of-life care. Framework: Social interaction theory, which explains that people act on the basis of "meanings" evolving from personal interaction and subjective interpretation, framed the research questions and subsequent discussion of findings. Subjects: The phenomenon of humor was studied by observing 17 RNs as they delivered care to 89 hospice patients and their families. In addition to the nurse-patient dyad, 54 primary care givers were also included in the observations. The total number of participants in the study was 160. The total hospice visits observed by the researcher were 132 and occurred in two settings of hospice care (home or facility-based). Methods: Using non-participant observation in an exploratory and descriptive design, this study took a micro-analytical perspective to examine the presence of humor during the social interaction process of hospice work to analyze 132 observations. Results: The results revealed that humor was present in 85% of the 132 observed nurse-based hospice visits and also showed that hospice patients initiated humor 70% of the time. These findings were constant, regardless of hospice settings. Humor was shown to be spontaneous, as well as a frequent and prevalent part of everyday hospice work. Conclusions: The results depict a unique view of the humor phenomenon. This research adds a new perspective to the body of knowledge of both the humor phenomenon and everyday nurse-patient interactions that has implications for further research and nurse education.
Session #1201 - End of Life
The 29th Annual MNRS Research Conference (April 1-4, 2005)