Purpose
The study focused on finding a versatile definition that adequately defines areas of the body that are intimate to touch. Further, it endeavored to gain information from the public that could assist male and female nurses in providing professional and respectful care (O’Lynn & Krautscheid, 2011).
Significance and Background
The study discovered that nurses and allied staff are the workers who intimately touch patients frequently. It also found more ways to undertake special care. The study found the inadequate research on nurses’ touch and its effects. This study discovered protective touch as another aspect that had not been addressed, such as when a nurse moves a patient’s hand away from the dangerous equipment. Finally, the study discovered that patients and the general public had not been engaged interactively to find out their opinion on touch in intimate care (O’Lynn & Krautscheid, 2011).
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Methods
The study used maximum variation sampling also called heterogeneity sampling and diverse sampling of adults in an urban region of the western United States. The inclusion criteria involved the ability to provide consent and converse in English. The exclusion criteria involved ever having been a nurse or a nursing student. The sampling method selected is used with small sample sizes in qualitative research. It consists of selecting participants who are perceived to offer various explanations of the phenomenon of interest with the purpose of achieving a wide range of responses (Neuman, 2013).
Sample and Setting
The researchers selected college students from a Catholic University and middle-aged and older adults from respective churches. They picked seven Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) leadership class students where one was a male and their commanding officer. There followed undergraduates in the nursing department. They selected participants from a suburban Catholic church and a Protestant church in the downtown. The researchers taught at the Catholic University. Participants from the Catholic Church were perceived to be more socially conservative while the Protestant church participants were seen to be more socially liberal (O’Lynn & Krautscheid, 2011).
Measures/Instruments/Interview Guide
The researchers facilitated each focus group using a semi-structured interview protocol that started with a broad opening question, followed by transition questions and ending with nurse’s gender questions. To enhance more detailed responses and perspectives than in individual interviews, the researchers asked the same issues in each group plus follow-up questions. This tactic made participants to add more comments. The researchers took caution to avoid influencing the discussion with verbal or non-verbal evaluative responses. To enhance this, they maintained neutral facial expressions, forward-leaning, and eye contact. Knapp, Hall, & Horgan (2013) argue that verbal and non-verbal communication can potentially change response. They encouraged discussion through interactions where they avoided challenging adverse or biased reactions.
Data Analysis
The researchers tape-recorded the interview and transcribed each recording. Then, they discussed and compared notes and observations with those from previous focus groups. They used thematic analysis as depicted by Aronson to analyze the transcripts. Thematic analysis involves identification, examination, and recording of themes within data (Vaismoradi, Jones, Turunen, & Snelgrove, 2016). They identified the general categories of the comments and labeled segments of the transcripts and matched them to the respective groups. Similarities and differences in the groups were obtained followed by the reclassification of the categories into four themes.
Results
The themes are supported by the data provided. It’s evident in the data that most patients requiring intimate touch services need an above average level of direct and indirect involvement in the process. For instance, most participants advocate for prior communication before the execution of any intimate touch procedure. Participants felt devalued when denied a choice to express preferences concerning intimate touch. Concerning gender, participants were concerned about the gender of the nurse attending to them. Further, participants showed the need for a calculated close touch procedure that is neither too slow nor too fast (O’Lynn & Krautscheid, 2011).
Conclusion
Nurses may assume that what they learned in class supersedes all other potential requirements. As most participants elaborated, it is crucial to project a professional image in appearance and communication. Secondly, nurses need to offer choices to patients such as seeking permission and finding out whether the patient can perform intimate touch. It is also crucial to inform the patient about the gender of the nurse since some patients feel comfortable with a particular gender. Nurses should also endeavor to moderate the intimate touch in a manner that is neither too slow nor very fast (O’Lynn & Krautscheid, 2011). The four themes offer an excellent framework of operation in nursing units because they advocate for excellent relationships between patients and nurses.
References
Knapp, M. L., Hall, J. A., & Horgan, T. G. (2013). Nonverbal communication in human interaction . Boston. Cengage Learning.
Neuman, W. L. (2013). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches . London. Pearson education.
O'Lynn, C., & Krautscheid, L. (2011). 'How Should I Touch You?': A Qualitative Study of Attitudes on Intimate Touch in Nursing Care. AJN American Journal of Nursing , 111 (3): 24-33. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000395237.83851.79
Vaismoradi, M., Jones, J., Turunen, H., & Snelgrove, S. (2016). Theme development in qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice , 6 (5), 100. doi : 10.5430/jnep.v6n5p100 URL: http://dx. doi .org/10.5430/jnep.v6n5p100
