Comparison of therapeutic touch and casual touch in stress reduction of hospitalized children.
OBJECTIVE
To compare the effectiveness of therapeutic touch and causal touch for stress reduction of hospitalized children aged 2 weeks to 2 years old.


METHODS
Stress reduction was measured by pulse, peripheral skin temperature, and galvanic skin response as observed on the GSR-II biofeedback instrument.


RESULTS
An ANOVA measured effectiveness of the interventions of causal touch and therapeutic touch at 3 and 6 minute intervals. The results demonstrated a significant difference with the critical value of F = 4.18 p less than .05. The computed value of F = 26.98 at 3 minutes and F = 26.94 at 6 minutes.


CONCLUSIONS
Therapeutic touch reduced time needed to calm children after stressful experiences.
Kramer
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D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D012064:Relaxation Therapy / Q000592:standards*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing*; D014110:Touch