ReachMD

Norma Hannigan began working in community health settings in 1982, and has been a nurse practitioner since 1994. She is assistant professor of clinical nursing at Columbia University School of Nursing in New York. Her clinical interests include antibiotic resistance, laughter and health. She also writes a quarterly patient-health column for professional truck drivers on the website 10-4 Magazine Online. With funding from the Columbia University School of Nursing, Ms. Hannigan is leading the DROLL study (Diabetes: Relationship of Laughter on Living with diabetes), to investigate the effect of frequent laughter on glycemic control, self-care and depression in Spanish-speaking patients.