Rx Laughter Collaborative Research Results:

1. Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine - October 2007 Issue
Rx Laughter and UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center & Mattel UCLA Children's Hospital.

2. Rx Laughter and The National Cancer Institute in Thailand with academic support from graduate students at the Yale University School of Public Health.

What is Rx Laughter?

Mission Statement:
Rx Laughter is a 501c3 nonprofit corporation. The mission of Rx Laughter is to prevent, reduce and eliminate trauma, pain, suffering and illness by implementing enjoyable film and television entertainment into health care in innovative ways. We do this through therapy, research, education and evaluation. We work closely with the entertainment industry, technology experts and health care institutes to achieve these goals.

Why Do We Do This?
Film and Television entertainment is a low cost, accessible form of pain management and stress reduction and can greatly improve our physical and mental health. It is enjoyable, the cost is minimal and the benefits are enormous.

It is available to us any hour of the day through many forms of technology: In Theatres, on Television, on DVD players, Cell Phones, IPods, and on our computers. We can watch our favorite video clips or we can enjoy full performances.

This can be especially beneficial for those who are homebound, lack the financial resources for more expensive forms of psychotherapeutic care, do not have a strong support system, or live in areas far from pain clinics and mental health outpatient clinics.

Furthermore, addiction to painkillers and antidepressants is common for those who are clinically depressed or have chronic pain conditions. By incorporating enjoyable television and film entertainment into their lives as a "prescription", we can reduce the dependence on costly and addictive drugs.

How Do We Do This?
We view everything carefully before showing it to patients! These productions range from classic or contemporary situation comedies or films, stand-up comedy videos, musical concerts, relaxation videos, professionally-produced student videos and high quality home-made videos. If it is enjoyable, engaging, age-appropriate, fun, and meets very high professional standards, then we will use it!

Through Rx Laughter, classic & contemporary film and television entertainment is then either prescribed as an educational resource to illustrate positive ways of thinking about difficult issues to lead to positive behavior change, or as a therapeutic resource to reduce loneliness and reduce anxiety. We research how film and television can reduce pain and improve our immune system in labs and clinics. We evaluate each project carefully for high quality replication.

Replication:
We develop, implement and evaluate each of our projects carefully and collaboratively We analyze our findings on a continual basis. Then, we educate people about what we have learned and consult with other nonprofit organizations so that they can replicate and expand upon our projects.

Why do we call ourselves "Rx Laughter"?
Originally, our focus was on the role of very funny television and film productions. Our early work proved the benefits of humorous entertainment for pain management and improved mental health with or without laughter as the primary mechanism. Specifically, we found that the primary mechanism was the enjoyable distraction of tv and film for physical and emotional relief more than just the act of laughter itself.

As such, in addition to very funny television shows and films, we have expanded our collection to include many more forms of uplifting and enjoyable film and television entertainment.

Who Do We Help?
We help children, teens and adults in cancer support groups, hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, mental health clinics, isolation units, intensive care, nursing homes and at home care. See Our Projects for more information.

Corporations who care about improved quality of life for their employees are also becoming interested in the uses of positive entertainment for improved emotional and physical health. We welcome their interest.

Who Started Rx Laughter and Why?
Rx Laughter was founded in 1998 by Sherry Dunay Hilber because of her belief in the importance of television and film entertainment in our lives--and the need for more positive forms of help for people who are coping with difficult emotional and physical problems.

As a Director of Prime Time Programming for ABC and CBS Entertainment for many years, Sherry was charged with the responsibility of overseeing top entertainment programs. It was during this time that she witnessed the incredible power and emotional benefits of entertainment programs.

Ms. Hilber wanted to use what she learned about the power of entertainment to help people who were suffering in hospitals and clinics worldwide, and actually research the health effects of entertainment so that scientists and health care providers could see the credibility of entertainment as a powerful "prescription." For our accomplishments so far, keep reading!

Ms. Hilber continues to oversee Rx Laughter as the Executive Director and is charged with developing and implementing every project, assuring donors and participants that the vision and integrity of Rx Laughter is maintained as we expand and evolve.

Do We Collaborate with Hospitals and Clinics?
Yes! In addition to our own projects, we work collaboratively with neuro-oncologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, pain management specialists and cancer researchers.

We work together to design, implement, oversee and evaluate projects that are pilot studies, mid-size or long term. Each project is carefully evaluated by Rx Laughter and our partners so that we can refine our work for replication by us and others.

The Leadership Team of Rx Laughter is rooted in practical management experience, scientific knowledge, direct patient care, and the belief that uplifting entertainment can have a profound effect on our quality of life. Many of our Advisory Board members guide us and collaborate with Rx Laughter.

Funding?
Our funding is on a project-by-project basis. Funding comes from caring donors and, when possible, from consultation fees.

What Have We Accomplished So Far?
Rx Laughter has already completed 2 large studies that proved the benefits of entertainment as a low cost, accessible prescription. Scientists and hospitals worldwide are interested in our work and are now embracing entertainment for patients in ways never imagined a decade ago.

In addition to our comedy improv therapeutic workshops for teenagers with cancer and our educational workshop for mental health clinicians and patients, we have completed the following large scale research projects and have since put our findings into practical therapeutic and educational use:

1. We have completed a multi year study with UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center and Neuropsychiatric Institute & Hospital for pediatric patients undergoing medical procedures.

Results: Pediatric and teen patients who watched humorous classic and contemporary tv shows and films during a painful procedure tolerated the pain better and longer, proving humorous and engaging videos to be a valuable distraction for patients in specifically used ways during painful medical procedures.

2. Rx Laughter collaborated with The National Cancer Institute in Thailand with academic support from Graduate Students at the Yale University School of Public Health on a pilot project at the NCI Thailand Cancer Center for adults. Funny Thai films and television were integrated into cancer support groups for several months. The effectiveness for these patients vs. the patients in the control group who did not have entertainment were evaluated.

Results: Improved sleep and reduced pain for the patients and greatly improved morale for the nursing staff.

New Technologies - The Future:
The future of prescribing enjoyable film and television entertainment for health care holds much promise as new technologies expand the reach of entertainment worldwide as never before. With this in mind, we are including digital media in some of our newest projects. Stay tuned!

Interested?
For specific information regarding these and other projects, please click on any of the links at the top of this page. To quickly learn how to be a part of our work, please click on Supporters, How to Donate and Contact Us.

Thank you!

-No reproduction or other usage of any text, photos or other materials that are on this website are allowable without the permission of Rx Laughter Inc.

-Website designed by Daniel Simkins.