A review of the use and clinical effectiveness of touch as a nursing intervention

Abstract

The objective of this literature review is to explore the use and effectiveness of touch as a distinct aspect of nurse patient communication. Nurses’ use of touch, the impact of touch and the experiences of touch are explored. Touching is a regarded as a special type of non-verbal communication. It is an intimate action that implies an invasion of the individuals’ personal and private space. The practice of nursing involves a high level of human contact encompassing many activities such as bathing a patient, that require a physical aspect in their operation. Touch has been muted as a valuable channel of non-verbal communication in nursing and students are advised of its potential theoretical benefits to clients. Touch has been linked to the phenomenon of caring [Clifford, C., 1995. Caring: fitting the concept to nursing practice. Journal of Advanced Nursing (4), 37–41; Chang, S.O., 2001. The conceptual structure of physical touch in caring. Journal of Advanced Nursing 33(6), 820–827; Bassett, C., 2002. Nurses’ perceptions of care and caring. International Journal of Nursing Practice 8, 8–15] and is suggested to enhance the nurse patient relationship [Arnold, E., Underman Boggs, K., 1999. Interpersonal Relationships. Professional Communication Skills for Nurses. third ed. W.B. Saunders Company, London]. However, the evidence base for this practice is less convincing. The objective of this review is to explore the evidence base that underpins the use of touch in nursing practice and use this knowledge to inform practice. The main objective of the review is to examine the use and clinical effectiveness of touch as a nursing intervention. Little empirical evidence exists that supports the use of touch as a nursing intervention per se, and ambiguity exists with regard to its perception by both patients and nurses. Widespread adoption of touch as a caring intervention is discouraged in the absence of research evidence and clear guidelines for practice.