Background: The use of touch and simple massage are first-line non-pharmacological interventions used in the comprehensive care for the elderly with dementia (EWD).
Context: These acts have positive effects on both the level of anxiety and self-esteem of EWD. Nevertheless, they are not carried out by all caregivers in the same manner.
Objectives: This study seeks to describe the representations of EWD's caregivers and their perceptions of practice of touch with this population. It will also highlight their ways of coping with any difficulties encountered.
Method: It is based on a qualitative analysis of 31 semi-structured interviews (17 nurses and 14 health care assistants) conducted with caregivers working primarily with elderly patients with dementia.
Results: The results indicate that touch, although well integrated in all activities of personal care, is not considered as a care intervention in itself. It is subject to multiple influences. Indeed, on the one hand, the representations those caregivers have of the elderly patient with dementia overlap with those of their roles and skills and change the type of touch and their intentions when they touch. On the other hand, the emotions generated by the "dirty" work and the aggressiveness of the elderly patient with dementia sometimes make it difficult to touch them.
Discussion: The perspective of caregivers is essentially self-referenced and touch does not appear as an indicator of institutional norms.