Effects of therapeutic touch before abdominal surgery on anxiety of female patients

Abstract

Introduction: Therapeutic touch is one of the non-invasive nursing methods to relieve pain. In this method, energy is transferred from one person to another. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of therapeutic touch on preoperative anxiety in women with abdominal surgery.

Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study, a clinical trial, carried out in Fateme Zahra Hospital of Boushehr. Participants were selected based on some characteristics such as age, ethnic status and educational level and they were randomized to receive either therapeutic touch or placebo the night before surgery. In order to assess the anxiety, Spielberg State Anxiety Index was used before and after intervention.

Results: Thirty participants completed the study. The mean difference of anxiety scores before and after treatment in therapeutic touch group was not significant by statistical non-parametric Mann Whitney U test (P>0.05).

Conclusion: Since the difference of anxiety scores between the two groups revealed the effectiveness of therapeutic touch on anxiety reduction, repetition of this study with more samples is recommended.  Non-significant statistical difference can lie possibly either in low number of the subjects or some of the subjects' acquaintance with therapeutic touch in placebo group.