"I am Here"-The Importance of Caring Touch in Intensive Care. A Qualitative Observation and Interview Study.
Jessica Tengblad, Fanny Airosa, Liza Karlsson and 4 others
PMID 37735941WHAT IT FOUND
In ICUs, touch is often the only way to communicate with sedated or intubated patients.
Staff and families used gentle touch to guide movement, convey safety, and show presence. Patients reported that unnecessary gloves made contact feel stiff and cold, reducing the sense of human connection.
Key findings
01Touch served as a primary communication tool for patients unable to speak or move, used to guide mobilization and signal presence.
02Patients perceived touch through gloves as stiffer and less comforting than bare-hand contact, which they associated with softness and better connection.
03Touch could cause suffering or anxiety if it was abrupt, painful, or performed without prior explanation to the patient.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The presence of a researcher observer over several days may have altered how staff and patients behaved or perceived touch. The study was conducted in Swedish ICUs with high staffing ratios (1:1.4), which may not reflect the time pressures or staffing levels in other healthcare systems. Excluding sedated patients and those with cognitive impairments means the findings do not apply to the most critically ill or confused ICU populations. The sample size was small (9 patients), limiting the transferability of the specific experiences described.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that touch improves clinical outcomes like pain scores or recovery time. This study describes the *experience* of touch; it does not measure physiological effects. Also, do not assume bare-hand touch is safe for all patients; the study notes that gloves were sometimes used for support during mobilization, and infection control protocols must always override the preference for skin-to-skin contact.