The overall aim of this thesis was to acquire knowledge about whether tactile touch as a complementary method can (i) promote comfort and (ii) reduce stress reactions during care in an intensive care unit (ICU) Method: In Paper I, five nurses with a touch therapist training were interviewed about their experiences of preparation before giving tactile touch in an ICU. To analyse the meaning of preparation as a phenomenon, Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach was used. In Paper II and III a randomised controlled trial was set up to investigate the effects of a five-day tactile touch intervention on patients’ oxytocin levels in arterial blood (II), on patients’ blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose level, and on patients’ levels of anxiety, sedation and alertness (III)…
Contents
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
To give and receive care in an intensive care unit
Being a patient in intensive care
Being a nurse in intensive care
Complementary methods
History of massage and touch
Tactile touch
RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY
OVERALL AND SPECIFIC AIMS
METHOD
Research design
Framework for the phenomenological research method (Paper I)
Framework for the phenomenological hermeneutic
research method (Paper IV)
Randomised controlled trial (Paper II, III)
Participants and settings
Data collection
Narrative interviews for paper I and IV
The intervention study (Paper II, III)
Instruments and variables
Data analysis
Phenomenological analysis (Paper I)
Phenomenological hermeneutic analysis (Paper IV)
Statistical analysis
Trustworthiness, validity and reliability
Paper I, IV
Paper II, III
Ethical considerations
Respect for autonomy
Non-maleficence and beneficence
The principle of justice FINDINGS
The transition from nurse to touch therapist (Paper I)
Enjoying tactile touch and gaining hope during
intensive care (Paper IV)
The outcome of tactile touch on oxytocin levels
in arterial plasma (Paper II)
The outcome of tactile touch on stress parameters (Paper III)
Anxiety
Sedatives and alertness
Circulation
Glucose metabolism
Comprehensive understanding of the findings
GENERAL DISCUSSION
Being in the tactile space
The concept of lived space
Approaching the space
Receiving tactile touch
Reflection about using tactile touch
Opportunity to experience pleasure and hope
Clinical use of tactile touch
Levels of sedation and the use of light sedation
Competence and procedures
Ethical issues
METHODOLOGICAL DISCUSSION
Trustworthiness of the qualitative interview studies
Credibility
Transferability
The randomized controlled trial papers (II, III)
Internal validity
External validity
Construct validity
Statistical conclusion validity
Reliability
Critical aspects of effect parameters
The representativeness of Paper II, III
Author: Henricson, Maria
Source: University of Boras
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