Laughter, Leininger, and home healthcare

Home health clinicians provide care for a culturally diverse patient population. According to Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (2010), caring is a universal phenomenon that varies based on a patient's cultural beliefs, values, and practices. Humor therapy promotes spontaneous therapeutic patient laughter. Assisting patients and families to maintain or regain their health or well-being and to deal with disabilities, dying, or other human conditions in culturally congruent and humorous ways may be beneficial. The purpose of this article is to discuss how Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality (Leininger & McFarland, 2006) and humor therapy can be combined to achieve better outcomes for home health patients. A case study of how this was applied to a first-generation Irish-American home health patient is included.