Caring touch and anxiety in myocardial infarction patients in the intermediate cardiac care unit

Abstract

The experience of myocardial infarction is a profoundly stressful event in a person's life. High anxiety levels have been observed in the myocardial infarction (MI) patient during the acute coronary care period and at the time of transfer from the coronary care unit to the intermediate cardiac care unit. The nurse is in a position to manipulate the patient and/or the environment to reduce or eliminate anxiety through the use of touch. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine the relationship between the type of touch and anxiety experienced by the myocardial infarction patient in the intermediate cardiac care unit. The subjects were male and female patients of any presenting age having sustained an acute myocardial infarction who were transferred from the coronary care unit to the intermediate cardiac care unit. The sample (N = 40) was systematically assigned to study groups. A comparative group received procedural touch while the experimental group received caring touch. State anxiety was measured both pre-touch and post-touch using the Spielberger (1970) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Data on 33 patients were analyzed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The results were in the direction of the hypothesis but not at the desired level of significance. Those experiencing the greatest benefits from caring touch were patients with pre-existing coronary artery disease and men under the age of 60 years. Those experiencing the least benefit from caring touch were those touched by both significant others and the investigator, and all women. Trends in the relevant variables supported the scientific rationale, as well as the hypothesis, and previous research.