Ošetřovatelské perspektivy 2018, 1(1):21-28 | DOI: 10.25142/osp.2018.002

HAPTICS AS A SIGNIFICANT THERAPEUTIC-ETHICAL PHENOMENON OF NON-PHARMACOLOGICAL PAIN TREATMENT

Michaela Harabišová¹, Tatiana Rapčíková²

¹ Katedra etiky a aplikovanej etiky, Filozofická fakulta, Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici

² Katedra ošetrovateľstva, Fakulta zdravotníctva so sídlom v Banskej Bystrici, Slovenská zdravotnícka univerzita v Bratislave

Pain has been the oldest and most well-known sign of the human body’s defence mechanism. Over the centuries, a number of physicians and scholars have sought to understand the principles of its origin and knowledge, reaching the conclusions used in pain treatment which we are still using today. The authors point to the reality of the holistic dimension concerning perception of pain, also projected into the inner world of a sick man. In the hospital environment, a healthcare professional becomes the most important bearer of tangible pain relief in providing a broad level of treatment, not only in the pharmacological but also in non-pharmacological way, where the haptics occupies a significant place. The report is an appeal to the acceptance and understanding of the haptics concept representing a significant therapeutic phenomenon in the nonpharmacological pain therapy process. Undoubtedly, its ethical aspect based on the ability of a close interaction between the health worker and the patient, has also been important, which induces the feeling of happiness as the category of the highest wellbeing for man. The aim of the paper is to point out that integration of haptics into health care, in close touch with respecting the individual territories of the sick person, contributes to a more effective fulfilment of both the therapeutic and the nursing processes in the pain management dimensions.

Keywords: haptics, pain, healthcare worker, patient, therapeutic, ethical

Published: May 31, 2018  Show citation