The influence of culture on care receivers' satisfaction and aggressive tendencies in the emergency department.

INTRODUCTION: Reducing aggressive tendencies among care receivers in the emergency department has great economic and psychological benefits for care receivers, staff, and health care organizations. In a study conducted in a large multicultural hospital emergency department, we examined how cultural factors relating to ethnicity interact to enhance care receivers' satisfaction and reduce their aggressive tendencies. Specifically, we explored how care receivers' cultural affiliation, individual cultural characteristics, and the cultural situational setting interact to increase care receivers' satisfaction and reduce their aggressive tendencies. METHOD: Data were collected using survey responses from 214 care receivers. We use structural equation models and the bootstrap method to analyze the data. RESULTS: Care receivers' openness to diversity (an individual cultural characteristic) was positively related to their satisfaction that was associated with lower aggressive tendencies, only when they were affiliated with a cultural minority group and when the cultural situational setting included language accessibility. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that cultural affiliation, individual cultural characteristics, and cultural situational setting can affect care receivers' satisfaction and aggressive tendencies in a multicultural emergency department context. In particular, high cultural openness of care receivers, and making information accessible in their native language, increased satisfaction and reduced aggressive tendencies among cultural minority care receivers in our study.

Comunicação de notícias difíceis na atenção básica / Communication of difficult news in basic attention / Comunicación de noticias difíciles en la atención básica

Objetivo: Conhecer como ocorre a comunicação de notícias difíceis por enfermeiros na atenção básica. Método: pesquisa exploratória, descritiva e de abordagem qualitativa com 15 Enfermeiros de 10 Unidades Básicas de Saúde no sul do país. A coleta de dados foi realizada através de entrevistas semiestruturadas. Os dados foram analisados conforme análise textual discursiva. Resultado: Foram geradas duas categorias: Comunicação como suporte as necessidades do cliente; Comunicação como elemento a suprir a demanda da atenção primária. Conclusão: os enfermeiros adotam alguns aspectos no momento da comunicação de notícia difícil, aspectos esses ancorados, por exemplo, através de empatia, compreensão da realidade do usuário, fala simplificada, privacidade, entre outros, sendo esses essenciais para uma comunicação adequada e humanizada que visa o conforto do usuário nesse momento da comunicação

Objective: To know how the communication of difficult news by nurses in primary care occurs. Method: exploratory, descriptive and qualitative approach with 15 Nurses from 10 Basic Health Units in the south of the country. Data collection was done through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed according to discursive textual analysis. Result: two categories were generated: Communication as support the client's needs; Communication as an element to supply the demand for primary care. Conclusion: nurses adopt some aspects at the moment of difficult news communication, aspects that are anchored, for example through empathy, understanding of the user's reality, simplified speech, privacy, among others, being essential for adequate and humanized communication that aims at the comfort of the user in this moment of communication

Objetivo: Conocer cómo ocurre la comunicación de noticias difíciles por enfermeros en la atención básica. Método: investigación exploratoria, descriptiva y de abordaje cualitativo con 15 Enfermeros de 10 Unidades Básicas de Salud en el sur del país. La recolección de datos se realizó a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas. Los datos fueron analizados según el análisis textual discursivo. Resultado: se generaron dos categorías: Comunicación como soporte a las necesidades del cliente; Comunicación como elemento a suplir la demanda de la atención primaria. Conclusión: los enfermeros adoptan algunos aspectos en el momento de la comunicación de noticias difícil, aspectos anclados, por ejemplo, a través de empatía, comprensión de la realidad del usuario, habla simplificada, privacidad, entre otros, siendo estos esenciales para una comunicación adecuada y humanizada que, se refiere a la comodidad del usuario en ese momento de la comunicación

Dignity: The Cornerstone of Nursing Care Among Hospitalized Mothers of Infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

: One of the most important areas of nursing care delivery is "dignity." Because of the increase in hospitalized infants in neonatal intensive care units in recent years, this has led to an increased focus on "family care and maternal dignity." Given the importance of understanding the phenomenon of maternal dignity in order to improve cooperation in the care of their infants and promote family-centered care, this study aims to describe the lived experience of hospitalized mothers of infants within the context of dignity. This is a descriptive phenomenological qualitative research study. Twenty mothers were invited to participate in this study using purposeful sampling. The data were generated through individual, semistructured interviews and field notes were developed during the interviews. Data were analyzed using the Colaizzi method.Findings of the study were presented in 3 themes: "privacy," "respecting individual identity," and "authority," and 7 additional subthemes. Mothers in this study needed to take care of their infants in an environment where their personal privacy is preserved, their individual identity is respected, and they have sufficient authority in obtaining medical decisions. It is essential that healthcare teams and policy makers of health organizations provide an appropriate supportive environment in terms of promoting mothers' dignity in different dimensions and subsequently improving family-centered care.

Critical care nurses' communication experiences with patients and families in an intensive care unit: A qualitative study.

This study evaluated the communication experiences of critical care nurses while caring for patients in an intensive care unit setting. We have collected qualitative data from 16 critical care nurses working in the intensive care unit of a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea, through two focus-group discussions and four in-depth individual interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim, and data were analyzed using the Colaizzi's method. Three themes of nurses' communication experiences were identified: facing unexpected communication difficulties, learning through trial and error, and recognizing communication experiences as being essential for care. Nurses recognized that communication is essential for quality care. Our findings indicate that critical care nurses should continuously aim to improve their existing skills regarding communication with patients and their care givers and acquire new communication skills to aid patient care.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, should nurses offer to pray with patients?

Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unable to visit with friends and family, and religious patients cannot see personal clergy or even hospital chaplains. These patients may be scared, possibly mechanically ventilated, and dying. In these situations, should their nurse ever initiate an offer of prayer? Weighing the pros and cons of this issue, this discussion will argue that when offered in an ethical, patient-centered manner, nurses offering prayer can be therapeutic for some patients.

Problemas bioéticos en la prestación de los cuidados enfermeros durante la pandemia del COVID-19 / Bioethical problems in the provision of nursing care during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJETIVO PRINCIPAL: Identificar los principales problemas bioéticos suscitados al proporcionar cuidados de enfermería durante la pandemia de Covid-19. METODOLOGÍA: Revisión de la literatura sobre bioética de las pandemias y de las respuestas propuestas por organismos nacionales e internacionales con competencia sobre cuestiones bioéticas. RESULTADOS PRINCIPALES: Se identificaron problemas bioéticos en las siguientes áreas: el autocuidado de la enfermera en un contexto de alta contagiosidad; la priorización en la distribución de recursos insuficientes; y la defensa de los derechos del paciente. CONCLUSIÓN PRINCIPAL: Si bien se pueden obtener algunas respuestas a los mencionados desafíos a partir de las fuentes empleadas en este trabajo, resulta necesario un mayor análisis de cada uno de los problemas bioéticos identificados para hallar las respuestas correctas para el momento actual y en futuros escenarios análogos que puedan presentarse

OBJECTIVE: To identify the main bioethical problems raised by providing nursing care during the Covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: Review of the literature on bioethics of pandemics and the responses offered by national and international organizations with competence on bioethical issues. RESULTS: Bioethical problems were identified in the following areas: nurse self-care in a highly contagious context; prioritization in the distribution of insufficient resources; and the defense of the patient's rights. CONCLUSION: Although some answers to the mentioned challenges have been offered from the sources used in the document, it is necessary to further analyze each of the bioethical problems identified, to find the correct answers for the present moment and in future similar scenarios that may occur

Covid-19: Ethical Challenges for Nurses.

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted many of the difficult ethical issues that health care professionals confront in caring for patients and families. The decisions such workers face on the front lines are fraught with uncertainty for all stakeholders. Our focus is on the implications for nurses, who are the largest global health care workforce but whose perspectives are not always fully considered. This essay discusses three overarching ethical issues that create a myriad of concerns and will likely affect nurses globally in unique ways: the safety of nurses, patients, colleagues, and families; the allocation of scarce resources; and the changing nature of nurses' relationships with patients and families. We urge policy-makers to ensure that nurses' voices and perspectives are integrated into both local and global decision-making so as to minimize the structural injustices many nurses have faced to date. Finally, we urge nurses to seek sources of support throughout this pandemic.

Ethical conflicts in patient relationships: Experiences of ambulance nursing students.

BACKGROUND: Working as an ambulance nurse involves facing ethically problematic situations with multi-dimensional suffering, requiring the ability to create a trustful relationship. This entails a need to be clinically trained in order to identify ethical conflicts. AIM: To describe ethical conflicts in patient relationships as experienced by ambulance nursing students during clinical studies. RESEARCH DESIGN: An exploratory and interpretative design was used to inductively analyse textual data from examinations in clinical placement courses. PARTICIPANTS: The 69 participants attended a 1-year educational programme for ambulance nurses at a Swedish university. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS: The research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Participants gave voluntary informed consent for this study. FINDINGS: The students encountered ethical conflicts in patient relationships when they had inadequate access to the patient's narrative. Doubts regarding patient autonomy were due to uncertainty regarding the patient's decision-making ability, which forced students to handle patient autonomy. Conflicting assessments of the patient's best interest added to the conflicts and also meant a disruption in patient focus. The absence of trustful relationships reinforced the ethical conflicts, together with an inadequacy in meeting different needs, which limited the possibility of providing proper care. DISCUSSION: Contextual circumstances add complexity to ethical conflicts regarding patient autonomy, dependency and the patient's best interest. Students felt they were fluctuating between paternalism and letting the patient choose, and were challenged by considerations regarding the patient's communication and decision-making ability, the views of third parties, and the need for prioritisation. CONCLUSION: The essence of the patient relationship is a struggle to preserve autonomy while focusing on the patient's best interest. Hence, there is a need for education and training that promotes ethical knowledge and ethical reflection focusing on the core nursing and caring values of trust and autonomy, particularly in situations that affect the patient's decision-making ability.

Finding meaning in life: an exploration on the experiences with dependence on care of patients with advanced cancer and nurses caring for them.

PURPOSE: Patients with advanced cancer are likely to face increasing levels of care dependence. Adult patients who become care dependent on others can experience this condition as one of suffering and humiliation. The nurse-patient relationship plays a key role in the experience of dependence. Understanding patients' and nurses' perceptions of care dependence is crucial to addressing the impact it has on the lives of both. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of patients with cancer and nurses caring for them. METHODS: A multicentre qualitative study was conducted in Italy using semi-structured interviews with patients with advanced cancer admitted to 3 hospitals, and 9 focus groups with nurses working in oncology wards of 2 hospitals. Data were analysed with inductive content analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients and 44 nurses participated in the study. Three common themes were identified: within dependence, the relationship is a lifeline; dependence is influenced by internal and external factors and dependence generates changes. Dependence impacts on patients' and nurses' lives and implies a process of personal maturing for both. Patients learn the humility to ask for help by exposing their vulnerability. Nurses become aware that a trusting relationship helps patients to accept dependence, and they learn to self-transcend in order to build it. CONCLUSIONS: Striving to build positive relationships implies a change in nurses' and patients' lives. In this way, they come to understand important aspects of life and find meaning in difficult situations. Further studies should explore also homecare settings and patients' families.

Relações interpessoais entre enfermeiro-paciente na perspectiva da violência atual / Interpersonal relations between nursing-patient in the perspective of current violence / Relaciones interpersonales entre enfermero-paciente en la perspectiva de la violencia actual

Objetivo: refletir sobre a importância da relação interpessoal entre enfermeiro-paciente na perspectiva da violência atual. Métodos: trata-se de um estudo descritivo-reflexivo. As bases de dados utilizadas foram: Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde, National Library of Medicine, SCOPUS, Web Of Science e Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, nos idiomas: inglês, espanhol e português, dos últimos dez anos. Resultados: emergiram três categorias: 1) A violência sofrida pelos profissionais da enfermagem no ambiente de trabalho; 2) A educação como ferramenta para minimizar a violência no trabalho e a 3) Cuidado de enfermagem a pessoas vulneráveis e expostas a violência. Conclusão: as relações interpessoais podem evitar que atos de violência sejam praticados no ambiente de trabalho, cabendo a própria instituição e os setores gerenciais capacitarem toda a equipe, utilizando a educação continuada como uma ferramenta eficaz para essa questão

Objective: to reflect on the importance of the interpersonal relationship between nurse-patient in the perspective of current violence. Methods: this is a descriptive-reflective study. The databases used were: Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature, National Library of Medicine, SCOPUS, Web Of Science and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, in the languages: English, Spanish and Portuguese, of the last ten years. Results: three categories emerged: 1) Violence suffered by nursing professionals in the workplace; 2) Education as a tool to minimize workplace violence and 3) Nursing care for vulnerable people exposed to violence. Conclusion: interpersonal relationships can prevent acts of violence from being carried out in the workplace, and the institution itself and the management sectors can train the entire team, using continuing education as an effective tool for this issue

Objetivo: reflexionar sobre la importancia de la relación interpersonal entre enfermero-paciente en la perspectiva de la violencia actual. Métodos: este es un estudio descriptivo-reflexivo. Las bases de datos utilizadas fueron: Literatura de Ciencias de la Salud de América Latina y el Caribe, Biblioteca Nacional de Medicina, SCOPUS, Web of Science e índice acumulativo de enfermería y literatura de salud aliada, en los idiomas: inglés, español y portugués, de los últimos diez años. Resultados: surgieron tres categorías: 1) Violencia sufrida por profesionales de enfermería en el lugar de trabajo; 2) La educación como herramienta para minimizar la violencia en el lugar de trabajo y 3) Atención de enfermería para personas vulnerables expuestas a la violencia. Conclusión: las relaciones interpersonales pueden evitar que se lleven a cabo actos de violencia en el lugar de trabajo, y la propia institución y los sectores de gestión pueden capacitar a todo el equipo, utilizando la educación continua como una herramienta eficaz para este problema

Cuidar del cuidado: Ética de la compasión, más allá de la protocolización del cuidado de enfermería / Caring for care: Ethics of compassion, beyond the protocolization of nursing care / Cuidando do cuidado: Ética da compaixão, além da protocolização do cuidado de enfermagem

El objetivo de este artículo de carácter reflexivo es analizar cómo se sostiene la relación entre el cuidado de enfermería y la ética de la compasión y algunos efectos de la protocolización del cuidado en dicha relación. METODOLOGÍA: La delimitación del tema de análisis surge en el marco de un ejercicio de narrativa de experiencias de cuidado, en el que las categorías conceptuales cuidado de enfermería - compasión - protocolo se encuentran interrelacionadas. Se realiza un análisis teórico reflexivo principalmente desde la fenomenología de M. Heidegger y la filosofía de la finitud de JC Melich. CONCLUSIÓN: la relación entre cuidado y compasión es consustancial. No puede haber cuidado sin compasión y tampoco puede haber compasión sin cuidado, la compasión exalta el cuidado de enfermería y este a su vez es la cúspide de una ética de la compasión. Sin embargo, esta puede verse disgregada por la protocolización del cuidado y las practicas de enfermería, alejando al cuidado de su verdadera esencia, la ética de la compasión

The objective of this reflective article is to analyze how the relationship between nursing care and comparison ethics is maintained and some effects of the protocolization of care in said relationship. METHODOLOGY: The delimitation of the analysis topic arises within the framework of a narrative exercise of care experiences, in the conceptual categories nursing care - comparison - protocol are interrelated. A reflective theoretical analysis is carried out mainly from the phenomenology of M. Heidegger and the philosophy of finitude from JC Melich. CONCLUSION: the relationship between caring and compassion is inherent. You can't be careful without compassion and you can't have compassion without care, compassion exalts nursing care and this is your time is the hope of an ethic of compassion. However, this can be broken down by the protocolization of nursing care and practices, taking care away from its true essence, the ethics of compassion

O objetivo deste artigo reflexivo é analisar como se mantém a relação entre o cuidado de enfermagem e a ética da comparação e alguns efeitos da protocolização do cuidado nesse relacionamento. METODOLOGIA: A delimitação do tópico de análise surge no marco de um exercício narrativo de experiências de cuidado, nas categorias conceituais protocolo de assistência de enfermagem - comparação - protocolo. Uma análise teórica reflexiva é realizada principalmente a partir da fenomenologia de M. Heidegger e da filosofia da finitude de JCMelich. CONCLUSÃO: a relação entre cuidar ecompaixão é inerente. Você não pode seimportar sem compaixão e não pode tercompaixão sem se importar, a compaixãoexalta os cuidados de enfermagem e este é oseu tempo é a esperança de uma ética dacompaixão. No entanto, isso pode ser quebrado pela protocolização dos cuidados e práticas de enfermagem, afastando o cuidado de sua verdadeira essência, a ética da compaixão

Analyzing Patients' Complaints: Awakening of the Ethic of Belonging.

Nursing ethics are fundamental principles to nursing practice. The purpose of this study is to analyze patients' complaints filed against nurses from a nursing ethics perspective. This is a qualitative study. The data source is the patients' complaints filed in a university-affiliated hospital in China. The complaints are categorized into 4 themes: uncompassionate attitudes, unprofessional communication, disrespect of patient rights, and unsatisfactory quality of nursing care. The ethic of belonging reflects nurse-patient relations. Patients expect to be treated with dignity. This study sends out a call for nurse leaders and educators to reevaluate the practice and education of the nursing professional identity.

Patient Dignity: Exploring Oncology Nurses' Perceptions During End-of-Life Care.

BACKGROUND: Research on nurses' perceptions of dignity is limited, with much work instead focusing on patients' experiences. Maintaining the dignity of patients is considered to be an important element of nursing care; however, it is often diminished by the acts and omissions of healthcare providers. OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to understand oncology nurses' perceptions of care that supports patients' dignity during end-of-life hospitalization and to propose a theoretical foundation consistent with these perceptions as a guide to practice. METHODS: A qualitative study using grounded theory was employed. Semistructured interviews with 11 experienced female oncology nurses generated insights into their perceptions of dignity in caring for terminally ill patients. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method until data saturation was reached. FINDINGS: This study revealed an emerging model for dignity care that uses communication, support, and facilitation in the education of nurses during end-of-life care. The proposed model could enhance the facilitation of nursing education and aid in the design of nursing course curricula and practical experiences that may improve nurses' ability to provide care supporting dignity.

Empathetic Practice: The Struggle and Virtue of Empathizing with a Patient's Suffering.

In this article, our analysis of empathy in the clinical context hinges on the complexities of patients who are acutely suffering. Using a case concerning a heart transplant patient with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Alex, and his nurse, Joe, we investigate how empathy's phenomenological nebulousness can generate doubts about its virtue. Even when asking, "How are you, Alex?" Joe hates the question; it seems empty, silly. Cases like this show both that the enactment of empathy is sometimes challenging and that it can be reasonable to wonder if empathy is a virtue at all. Perhaps Alex's suffering is simply too massive: Joe cannot possibly know how he feels, so why try? Perhaps empathy would only cause Joe to suffer along with Alex. Not only is empathy difficult to produce in the context of Alex's suffering; it may not even be possible; and if we simply cannot muster empathy, what is the point of morally demanding it? In response, we distinguish different kinds of empathic engagements from one another and offer separate counsel. We argue that it is important to understand empathy as something that must be honed across varied contexts before it can be called a virtue. Conceptualizing and operationalizing empathy in this way helps to ground its possibility and virtue even in the most challenging and complex clinical encounters.

An ethnographic study of human dignity in nursing practice.

BACKGROUND: The ethical values of nursing are crucial to the provision of humane care. Human dignity is a core value that must be preserved in order to deliver such care. No studies to date have compared the perceptions of nurses and/or patients regarding the components of dignified care embedded in actual clinical practice. PURPOSE: To explore the delivery of dignified care by professional nurses. This was an ethnographic qualitative study combining inductive and deductive methods to identify emergent themes. A multicenter study carried out in the internal medicine units of four hospitals in Barcelona (Spain). Convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses from the four units. SETTING AND SAMPLE: Multicenter study carried out in the internal medicine units of four hospitals in Barcelona (Spain). Convenience sampling was used to recruit nurses from the four units. METHOD: We conducted 158 hours of participant observation of 27 nurses. Semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with 20 of these nurses, with data saturation being reached. Data were collected between September 2014 and May 2016 and were analysed using ATLAS.ti 7.2 for Windows. RESULTS: Two themes emerged from the analysis: Delivering dignified care and Factors influencing the delivery of dignified care. The nurses regarded human dignity as one of the key values of their profession. However, there was a discrepancy between their perceptions of the care they offered and what they actually did, due mainly to a lack of awareness about their own practice. Respect, confidentiality, privacy and communication were identified as the key elements underpinning dignified care. Institutional policies were seen as the major obstacle to the delivery of humane care, the key issues being frequent shift rotations, a high patient-nurse ratio and excessive paperwork. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study underline the importance of delivering dignified care and the need to ensure that nurses' attitudes and behaviours are consistent with this goal. The ethnographic approach, combining participant observation with individual interviews, revealed discrepancies between nurses' perceptions of the care they offered, or should offer, and what they actually did. This suggests a need for professional forums in which nurses can become more aware of their own clinical practice.

Relationships and burden: An empirical-ethical investigation of lived experience in home nursing arrangements.

Quantitative research has called attention to the burden associated with informal caregiving in home nursing arrangements. Less emphasis has been placed, however, on care recipients' subjective feelings of being a burden and on caregivers' willingness to carry the burden in home care. This article uses empirical material from semi-structured interviews conducted with older people affected by multiple chronic conditions and in need of long-term home care, and with informal and professional caregivers, as two groups of relevant others. The high burden of home-care arrangements is unanimously stressed by all three groups involved in the triangle of care. An empirical-ethical investigation of what can be legitimately expected from family members and informal caregivers, informed by Frith's symbiotic empirical ethics approach, was undertaken. Key tenets from the special goods theory and nursing professionalism are used as analytical tools. The study concludes that the current situation may hinder professional development and can reinforce feelings of being a burden to relevant others.

[Ethics and giving bad news to a patient with Alzheimer's]. / Éthique et mauvaise nouvelle à un patient Alzheimer.

Breaking bad news to a patient with Alzheimer's often raises ethical questions: should the person be informed or not when there is a risk he or she will not understand or retain the explanations provided? While on the face of it the truth seems desirable, it is important to carefully analyse what is at stake as this truth can potentially harm a vulnerable patient. The person making the disclosure can find themselves at the centre of a conflict: on the one hand loyalty and a moral duty to inform, on the other a compassionate lie to protect the patient from upsetting news. Being aware of the ethical issues at the heart of this dilemma can help to indicate the best path to take for the benefit of the patient, the family and the nurses.

Study of Reported Sexual Misconduct by Nurses Finds Gaps in Disciplinary Action.

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Neurophysiology of human touch and eye gaze in therapeutic relationships and healing: a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this scoping review was to examine and map the range of neurophysiological impacts of human touch and eye gaze, and consider their potential relevance to the therapeutic relationship and to healing. INTRODUCTION: Clinicians, and many patients and their relatives, have no doubt as to the efficacy of a positive therapeutic relationship; however, much evidence is based on self-reporting by the patient or observation by the researcher. There has been little formal exploration into what is happening in the body to elicit efficacious reactions in patients. There is, however, a growing body of work on the neurophysiological impact of human interaction. Physical touch and face-to-face interaction are two central elements of this interaction that produce neurophysiological effects on the body. INCLUSION CRITERIA: This scoping review considered studies that included cognitively intact human subjects in any setting. This review investigated the neurophysiology of human interaction including touch and eye gaze. It considered studies that have examined, in a variety of settings, the neurophysiological impacts of touch and eye gaze. Quantitative studies were included as the aim was to examine objective measures of neurophysiological changes as a result of human touch and gaze. METHODS: An extensive search of multiple databases was undertaken to identify published research in the English language with no date restriction. Data extraction was undertaken using an extraction tool developed specifically for the scoping review objectives. RESULTS: The results of the review are presented in narrative form supported by tables and concept maps. Sixty-four studies were included and the majority were related to touch with various types of massage predominating. Only seven studies investigated gaze with three of these utilizing both touch and gaze. Interventions were delivered by a variety of providers including nurses, significant others and masseuses. The main neurophysiological measures were cortisol, oxytocin and noradrenaline. CONCLUSIONS: The aim of this review was to map the neurophysiological impact of human touch and gaze. Although our interest was in studies that might have implications for the therapeutic relationship, we accepted studies that explored phenomena outside of the context of a nurse-patient relationship. This allowed exploration of the boundary of what might be relevant in any therapeutic relationship. Indeed, only a small number of studies included in the review involved clinicians (all nurses) and patients. There was sufficient consistency in trends evident across many studies in regard to the beneficial impact of touch and eye gaze to warrant further investigation in the clinical setting. There is a balance between tightly controlled studies conducted in an artificial (laboratory) setting and/or using artificial stimuli and those of a more pragmatic nature that are contextually closer to the reality of providing nursing care. The latter should be encouraged.