Auckland University, Auckland, New Zealand.
Coventry University, Coventry, UK.
Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2020 Aug;25(3):731-754. doi: 10.1007/s10459-019-09901-9. Epub 2019 Jul 16.
Touch is an integral part of human life. Consequently, touching and being touched are also fundamental to healthcare practice. Despite a significant literature on touch, it is rarely conceptualized or discussed in terms of the student journey from layperson to practitioner. We chose to explore professional touch using the threshold concepts framework (TCF), which provides a theoretical model for exploring the way in which learners encounter, engage with and understand fundamental concepts in a discipline. This qualitative research synthesis (QRS) describes the use of the TCF to identify key issues involved in developing and using professional touch. Through a cross-professional analysis and synthesis of recent international literature, we aimed to identify key characteristics of the transitional journey for professional touch. Three orders of analysis were applied, employing a methodology described by Major and Savin-Baden (An introduction to qualitative research synthesis: managing the information explosion in social science research, Routledge, London, 2010). Following identification of threshold characteristics in the overall sample of articles, second order analysis revealed the nuances of professional touch associated with the characteristics. The final synthesis led to identification of five themes: touch as dialogue; being changed by touch; multiple boundaries of touch; multiple meanings of touch and influences on touch. Whilst providing support for some assertions within the literature, this QRS also offers new insights into the complexity of professional touch. Given the paucity of explicit learning and reflection around professional touch in training programmes of health professionals, the TCF reveals ways in which professional preparation might be improved to promote understanding of the role and impact of touch in practice.
触摸是人类生活不可或缺的一部分。因此，触摸和被触摸也是医疗保健实践的基础。尽管有大量关于触摸的文献，但很少从学生从非专业人士到从业者的角度来概念化或讨论触摸。我们选择使用阈限概念框架 (TCF) 来探索专业触摸，该框架为探索学习者在学科中遇到、参与和理解基本概念的方式提供了一个理论模型。本定性研究综合 (QRS) 描述了使用 TCF 来确定发展和使用专业触摸所涉及的关键问题。通过对最近国际文献的跨专业分析和综合，我们旨在确定专业触摸过渡旅程的关键特征。应用了三个分析顺序，采用了 Major 和 Savin-Baden（《定性研究综合导论：管理社会科学研究中的信息爆炸》，Routledge，London，2010）描述的方法。在对文章的总体样本中确定了阈限特征之后，第二顺序分析揭示了与特征相关的专业触摸的细微差别。最终的综合导致确定了五个主题：触摸作为对话；被触摸改变；触摸的多重边界；触摸的多重含义和触摸的影响。虽然本 QRS 为文献中的一些断言提供了支持，但它也为专业触摸的复杂性提供了新的见解。鉴于在卫生专业人员的培训计划中，专业触摸周围缺乏明确的学习和反思，TCF 揭示了可以改进专业准备以促进对触摸在实践中的作用和影响的理解的方法。
