Outcomes of comfort touch in institutionalized elderly female patients

Comfort touch as a holistic nursing intervention has gained considerable attention in the past decade. The purpose of this experimental study was to examine whether comfort touch improved the perceptions of self-esteem, well-being and social processes, health status, life satisfaction and self-actualization, and faith or belief and self-responsibility in 45 institutionalized elderly female residents. Results revealed that comfort touch significantly improved the perceptions of all elements. This article offers recommendations for practice, research, and education.