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Healing touch for older adults with persistent pain.
Diane Wind Wardell1, Sheila A Decker, Joan C Engebretson
1School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX 77030, USA. diane.wardell@uth.tmc.edu
Holistic Nursing Practice
|June 15, 2012
Summary
Healing Touch (HT) may help some older adults in long-term care manage chronic pain. This therapy showed varied results, with some experiencing pain relief and improved well-being.
Area of Science:
- Gerontology
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine
- Pain Management
Background:
- Persistent pain is a significant issue for older adults in long-term care facilities.
- Analgesics are the primary treatment, but complementary therapies like Healing Touch (HT) may offer supportive benefits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review older adults' responses to Healing Touch (HT) for pain management in long-term care settings.
- To explore the effectiveness of HT as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain in this population.
Main Methods:
- A convergent mixed-methods approach was utilized.
- Included secondary analysis of 84 Healing Touch (HT) sessions and quantitative data.
- Compared 12 participants receiving HT with 8 receiving presence care.
Main Results:
- Participant experiences with HT were highly varied.
- Some individuals reported no noticeable benefit, while others experienced decreased pain.
- Improvements in physiological and psychosocial symptoms were observed in some participants.
Conclusions:
- Healing Touch (HT) may offer benefits for select older adults in long-term care facilities.
- HT can serve as an adjunct therapy for chronic pain management.
- Further research is warranted to understand the nuances of HT effectiveness in this demographic.
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