Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to acquire knowledge about whether tactile touch as a\ncomplementary method can (i) promote comfort and (ii) reduce stress reactions during care in an\nintensive care unit (ICU)\nMethod: In Paper I, five nurses with a touch therapist training were interviewed about their experiences\nof preparation before giving tactile touch in an ICU. To analyse the meaning of preparation as a\nphenomenon, Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach was used. In Paper II and III a randomised\ncontrolled trial was set up to investigate the effects of a five-day tactile touch intervention on patients’\noxytocin levels in arterial blood (II), on patients’ blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose level, and\non patients’ levels of anxiety, sedation and alertness (III). Forty-four patients were randomised to either\nan intervention group (n = 21) or a control group (n = 23). Data were analysed with non-parametric\nstatistics. In Paper IV, six patients who had received the tactile touch intervention were interviewed to\nilluminate the experience of receiving tactile touch during intensive care. To gain a deeper understanding\nof the phenomenon and to illuminate the meaning, Ricoeur’s phenomenological hermeneutical method,\ndeveloped by Lindseth and Norberg, was used.\nFindings: The nurses need four constituents (inner balance, unconditional respect for the patients’\nintegrity, a relationship with the patient characterized by reciprocal trust and a supportive environment)\nto be prepared and go through the transition from nurse to touch therapist (I). In the intervention\nstudy, no significant differences were shown for oxytocin levels between intervention and control group\nover time or within each day (II). There were significantly lower levels of anxiety for patients in the\nintervention group. There were no significant differences between the intervention and control groups\nfor blood pressure, heart rate, the use of drugs, levels of sedation or blood glucose levels (III). The\nsignificance of receiving tactile touch during intensive care was described as the creation of an imagined\nroom along with the touch therapist. In this imagined room, the patients enjoyed tactile touch and\ngained hope for the future (IV).\nConclusion: Nurses needed internal and external balance to be prepared for providing tactile touch.\nPatients did not notice the surroundings as much as the nurses did. Patients enjoyed the tactile touch\nand experienced comfort. The impact on stress parameters were limited, except for levels of anxiety\nwhich declined significantly. The results gave some evidence for the benefit of tactile touch given to\npatients in intensive care.
Author: Maria Henricson
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W149807862