Elizabeth Bush
Touch and massage are viable nursing modalities that are both underutilized and understudied.
This underuse of touch is especially noted in settings aimed at improving
the well-being of older adults. Anumber of studies suggest that the appropriate use of
touch by nurses has the potential to significantly improve the health status of older
adults. In particular, touch can be useful with cognitively impaired, institutionalized,
or hospitalized older adults. Likewise, touch can be useful for improving comfort and
communication among terminally ill older adults and their loved ones. This article
synthesizes some of the available literature on the subject while suggesting avenues
for nursing practice and education aimed at using touch as a viable and cost-effective
holistic gerontological nursing intervention.
JOURNAL OF HOLISTIC NURSING, Vol. 19 No. 3, September 2001 256-270 – abstract
DOI: 10.1177/089801010101900306
Filed under: Literature review, Touch
