International journal of nursing practice
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Humour is an integral part of everyday life and therefore a component of the care and treatment of elderly patients in the modern health care. This article deals with the role of humour in aged nursing from the perspective of the nursing home residents. It also describes some preliminary results of our study on the meaning of humour to professional nurses. ⋯ The assumption is supported by earlier research results which indicated that humour is an individual and personal matter and, in aged nursing care it is also very much a context-bound phenomenon. Humour makes it easier for some of the elderly patients to experience a positive, human relationship with the nurse. According to the results it seems to us that research should be continued and intensified into the role and use of humour in elderly people's everyday life and particularly in gerontological nursing care.