TAC-TIC therapy: a non-pharmacological stroking intervention for premature infants.

Abstract

This paper describes a non-pharmacological stroking intervention which has been used with premature infants. This intervention is referred to as Touching and Caressing, Tender in Caring (TAC-TIC) therapy. Some of the beneficial outcomes resulting from TAC-TIC in healthy preterms are outlined, along with some of the initial findings from research using the therapy with the high-risk ventilated premature neonate. Current research has been conducted using a psychoneuroimmunological framework and preliminary findings have indicated stabilized cardiovascular responses, enhanced secretory immunity and increased frequency of occurrence of comfort behaviours as a result of TAC-TIC therapy.