Results: Seventeen nursing homes (189 residents)
received the intervention and 18 homes (209 residents)
received usual care. Groups did not differ significantly
over time on the primary outcome of depression, or on
behavioural disturbances other than agitation, social
engagement and quality of life. The secondary outcome
of agitation was significantly reduced in the intervention
group compared with controls over 26 weeks (time by
group interaction adjusted for covariates: p=0.011). The
mean difference in change from baseline to 26 weeks in
Blom-transformed agitation scores after adjustment for
covariates was 0.17 (95% CI 0.004 to 0.34, p=0.045).
Conclusions: Humour therapy did not significantly
reduce depression but significantly reduced agitation.