Brazilian Nursing Communication Symposium
SIBRACEN

Abstract

TABET, Karla and CASTRO, Rosiani C. B. Ribeiro de. The use of touch as a humanization agent in icu nursing care.. In: BRAZILIAN NURSING COMMUNICATION SYMPOSIUM, 8., 2002, São Paulo. Proceedings online... Escola de Enfermagem de Ribeirão Preto - USP, Available from: <http://www.proceedings.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=MSC0000000052002000200034&lng=en&nrm=abn>. Acess on: 23 Apr. 2024.

The present study was born from apprehension about nursing professionals’ use of touch as a humanization factor in care at an intensive care unit. Research was developed as a quantitative-qualitative study, using an observation script for collecting data on the touches that were actually used, which were measured according to format (body part touched, time, duration of contact and action that caused it) and contents (type of touch and non-verbal language observed), with a view to a comparative analysis of the use of touch by nursing teams at an adult and pediatric ICU in a private institution. One of the main observations disclosed the higher incidence of instrumental touch in both units, although a larger number of expressive/affective touches occurred at the adult ICU.

Keywords : non-verbal communication; touch; humanization.