Evaluation of the effect of therapeutic touch on pain, delirium, sleep and physiological parameters in intensive care patients

The study was conducted to determine the effects of therapeutic touch applied to intensive care patients on pain, delirium, sleep and physiological parameters. The study sample consisted of individuals (intervention group 42, control group 38) who were hospitalized in Aksaray University Surgical Intensive Care Unit between December 2024 and February 2025, met the study inclusion criteria and volunteered to participate in the study. Therapeutic touch and questionnaire forms were applied to the patients in the intervention group for 15 minutes once a day (at the 24th, 48th and 72nd hours) during their 72 hours in the intensive care unit, while routine nursing care and questionnaire forms were applied to the patients in the control group. The socio-demographic characteristics form, Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Richmond Agitation and Sedation Scale (RASS), Richards-Campbell Sleep Scale and Physiological Parameters form were used to collect data. SPSS 26.0 program was used in the analysis of the data and the study was carried out at a 95% confidence level. After therapeutic touch, a statistically significant decrease (p = 0.000) was found in the mean pain score of the patients in the intervention and control groups after the 24th, 48th and 72nd hour application, and a statistically significant increase (p = 0.000) in the sleep score averages. While there was a statistically significant difference between the groups after the 24th hour application in the RASS score averages (p = 0.044), no statistically significant difference was found in the measurements after the 48th and 72nd hour application (p> 0.05). While there was no statistically significant difference in the physiological values of the patients in body temperature and diastolic blood pressure (p> 0.05), there were significant differences in other parameters (p < 0.05). As a result, it was determined that there was no decrease in the pain score and increase in the sleep score of the patients in the intervention group after the applied intervention; no change in the parameters of delirium, diastolic blood pressure and body temperature