Effect of a regular family visiting program as an affective, auditory, and tactile stimulation on the consciousness level of comatose patients with a head injury

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a regular family visiting program, as an auditory, affective, and tactile stimulation, on the consciousness level of comatose head injury patients. Method: A randomized controlled trial design was used. Fifty comatose head injury patients were randomly allocated into a control group or an intervention group. The consciousness level of the patients in both groups was evaluated and recorded by the Glasgow Coma Scale, before and 30 min after the visiting program. Results: The independent t-test results demonstrated that the means of the consciousness level at the first day before intervention had no significant difference in both groups. The repeated measured ANOVA results demonstrated that the consciousness level alterations were significant between the two groups over the 6 days of intervention. Conclusion: The results of the present study provided evidence to support that a regular family visiting program could induce the stimulation of comatose patients. Therefore, it can be considered as a potential nursing intervention. © 2009 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.