Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the progress and results of research of touch/massage in nursing through a systematic review of domestic and international literature. An analysis was conducted using the method of systematic review (Cooper 1998) and the criteria of bias risk assessment (van Tulder et al 2003). The results of research were follows ; 1) nurses’ touch have effects of stress, anxiety and pain reduction under stress, 2) hand and foot massage forr esidents of nursing homes and hospices and cancer patients have effects of comforting and relieving symptoms, and 3) whole-body/back massage have effects of relaxation, relieving pain, and elevating skin temperature. The finding that touch while talking is more effective in stress reduction than talking alone provides a suggestion for practice. Study conditions, populations, touch/massage methods, control groups, or measurement indexes or timing varied yet in research. It seems necessary to conduct reexaminations under more-controlled research in the future.
