Comfort Theory – Final Paper

Comfort Theory

Herzing University

NU 500

There are a lot of nursing theories that can be taught, used on a daily basis, and implemented by nurses in the future. With that being said, it is not ideal to leave out the comfort theory developed by Kolcaba. Nurses should understand the development, reason, concepts, and how and if it works if applied in the nursing field. The main reason the comfort theory is used is to remember comfort should be a priority in order for success in patient care. Within this essay, there will be insight into the Comfort theory developed by Kolcaba and an evaluation on the comfort theory relative to nursing.

Theory Description

Purpose of the Theory

The comfort theory is used in nursing and was developed over thirty years ago. The comfort theory has been utilized and redeveloped to be relative to the existing society and nurses should be using the comfort theory when caring for patients (Simes, Oneill, Ryan, Lapkin, 2018). The comfort theory developed by Kolcaba involves numerous aspects that are related to and able to be applied to the nursing field.

Concepts

The comfort theory has concepts that are all based on comfort. The comfort theory’s concept consists of a state of calm, relief, and transcendence (Simes et al., 2018).

Definitions

The comfort theory should be held high in healthcare facilities and by nurses because nurses since treat pain. When the body is comfortable, the patient may be able to heal faster. Through experience, stress has been known to slow down the process of healing. So, ensuring comfort should be key to improving a patient’s condition.

Aside from the predominant concept, which is comfort, the writer included other concepts. Kolcaba incorporated patient’s needs and health seeking behaviors (McEwen & Wills, 2017). In healthcare, providers such as nurses are responsible for treating the patients and making sure that body systems are working appropriately. A vital implementation in the comfort theory is managing the pain the patient which includes assessments, giving prescript drugs, and aiming to help patients become mobile again (McEwen & Wills, 2017). By utilizing the comfort theory, a patient may have a very positive experience with the provider (Coelho, Parola, Escobar-Bravo, Apóstolo, 2016).

Relationships

When the comfort theory was being evaluated, the concepts within the comfort theory all seemed to relate to one another. In order for comfort to occur, the comfort theory involves the key methods of diagnosing, implementation, and effective care planning (Tiase, 2003). When a patient is assessed, providers should find out what the patient needs. The comfort theory includes concepts have been explained well which makes it applicable in practice.

Assumptions

The comfort theory incorporates the assumptions of an individual, atmosphere, and health. In theory, the individual includes family, the individual, and community. In theory, health is defined as the best body operation by knowledge of the individual seeking health services.

Assessments include questions asking about how the patients feels. The assessments also include how the nurse objectively views how the patient appears while in pain. The comfort theory expands the definition of comfort by explaining how relief, transcendence, and ease should be used (Coelho et al., 2016).

Relief can be provided when patients receive pain medication. Ease is attained after the provider completes treatment, whether it is through pain medication or comfort measures (Coelho et al., 2016). Lastly, transcendence can be attained when a patient’s health target or goal is reached (Coelho et al., 2016). The comfort theory has definitions that are realistic which means nurses are able to use the theory on their job every day to ensure the best patient outcome (Coelho et al., 2016).

Analysis of the Theory

Origin of the Theory

The comfort theory was initially developed in the 1990s but it was not utilized in nursing yet (McCormack & March, 2009). Not far after, the comfort theory started to be used in nursing and healthcare providers began implementing it in their practice (McCormack & March, 2009).

Unique Focus

The Comfort Theory has been created in a way that allows it to be useful in any healthcare atmosphere. Comfort can provide a patient with a great quality of care and outcome.

Content

The comfort theory It has the goal of guaranteeing comfort to patients. Guaranteeing comfort helps patients conditions to improve at a faster rate (Simes, et al., 2018). No matter how minimal or substantial the circumstance is, the comfort theory has been able to be utilized in those situations. It is clear that the comfort theory can be applied to other medical areas. It is a goal for the comfort theory to be applied in their care to guide the healing process.

Evaluation of the Theory

Significance

The comfort theory is used along with the current literature, reviews, and research. The comfort theory has been taught to many nurses over the past thirty years.

Comprehensiveness

The comfort theory is comprehensive because it includes concepts that can be easily understood by nurses. Nurses can realize how they feel in times of pain and realize how uncomfortable it can be. After understanding their pain, they can utilize the comfort theory to treat their patients in a positive way.

Logical Congruence

The comfort theory works and is applicable to can be applied to actual circumstances in healthcare by providers (McEwen & Wills, 2017).

Credibility

Many healthcare facilities have been using comfort as the forefront of the service they provide but when a theory was developed, it provided credibility. Theories are researched and provides proper evidence to back the care they provide.

Contribution to Nursing

Additionally, the comfort theory is similar to what providers currently do in practice and can improve the quality of care given. The reason that it can be applicable to healthcare circumstances is because it shows a way for providers to be able to care and provide comfort for patients in time of need.

Conclusion

The Comfort theory involves many key aspects and ideas that can be utilized in the healthcare facilities for patients. The comfort theory provides direction and understanding for decision making in nursing by understanding pain and providing comfort for patients. So, after defining, and evaluating the comfort theory, it can be said that the comfort theory is applicable and should be utilized in nursing to provide care and comfort for patients.

References

Coelho, A., Parola, V., Escobar-Bravo, M., & Apóstolo, J. (2016). Comfort experience in palliative care: a phenomenological study. BMC palliative care, 15, 71. doi:10.1186/s12904-016-0145-0

McCormack, D., & March, A. (2009). Nursing Theory-Directed Healthcare. Holistic Nursing Practice,23(2), 81-82. doi:10.1097/01.hnp.0000347000.04149.1e

McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2017). Theoretical basis for nursing. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Tiase, V. L. (2003). Comfort Theory and Practice. AORN Journal,78(5), 868-869. doi:10.1016/s0001-2092(06)60651-0

Simes, T., Roy, S., Oneill, B., Ryan, C., Lapkin, S., & Curtis, E. (2018). Moving nurse educators towards transcendence in simulation comfort. Nurse Education in Practice,28, 218-223. doi:10.1016/j.nepr.2017.10.024