Effects of Improv Training on Older Adults in a Long Term Care Facility.

Adjusting to life in a long term care facility (LTCF) can be challenging for older adults. Improvisation (shortened to improv) is a unique activity that encourages creativity and adaptive cognitive stimulation, through performing short scenes with content suggestions. We sought to assess whether improv training, in the form of a course entitled Humor Doesn't Retire (HDR), could impact patient-centered outcomes in a LTCF.

Laughter is the best medicine: The Second City improvisation as an intervention for Parkinson's disease.

Background: Expressive therapies are increasingly incorporated into the management of Parkinson's disease (PD), although there are little objective data assessing their benefits.

Objective: Develop and study a novel community Improvisation Theater (IT) program for PD in order to improve quality of life.

Methods: A prospective, rater-blinded, modified cross-over design study of IT for PD.