Effects of a humor-centered activity on disruptive behavior in patients in a general hospital psychiatric ward1

The aim of this quasi-experimental study is to investigate the effects of a humor-based activity on disruptive behaviors in patients hospitalized in a psychiatric ward. It be compared two homogeneous samples of patients hospitalized in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital (acute ward) during two 83-day-long periods designated baseline (period 1) and activity (period 2). Ten behaviors considered disruptive (DB) 1 This study was made possible by funding from the Fundación Virgen de las Nieves in Granada (Spain), which allowed us to obtain equipment and other key material. This study would not have been possible without the professional collaboration and enthusiasm of the Titiritas Clown group, who were the stars of the humor-based activities on the ward. We offer special thanks to the members of this group: José Pérez de la Blanca, Francisco Parera, and Fernando Pérez de la Blanca. We also thank Dr Antonio Román de la Rosa for his valuable help with the incidence cards and data quality control, and K. Shashok for translating the original manuscript into English. The authors declare that none of us has and financial or other close relationship with any organization whose interests, financial or otherwise, may be affected by the publication of this paper. 2 Correspondence: Facultad de Psicología. Universidad de Granada. 18071 Granada (España). E-mail