Nursing Comfort Theory Analysis

The knowledge originates from nursing theories and conceptions and is shaped by philosophical streams (Jarošová, 2014). Various theorists have developed approaches and perspectives that continue to guide nurse practitioners in their day to day field of practice. Katharine Kolcaba is among the contributors in the field of nursing, her theory of Comfort provides a broad perspective that can help nursing practitioners. The theory can be classified as a middle range theory and helps nurses in the provision of comfort to patients. Theory Description Katharine Kolcaba developed Comfort theory in the 1990s. Secondly, it proposes that when patients’ comfort is enhanced, they are invigorated by the tasks they face, which are referred to as behaviors that are health seeking. Finally, the third proposition of the comfort theory states that when patients increase their engagement in activities that are health seeking, it results in the increased integrity of the institution.

When the institution’s integrity improves, the focus can be placed on implementing best practices and policies. Best healthcare practices are beneficial and cost effective to an organization, it also results in quality care. Major Assumptions The major assumptions in this theory are; first, the need for comfort is fundamental, second, people experience comfort in a universal way, third, actions that aim for self-comfort can be wholesome or harmful and, fourth, when people experience increased comfort in a wholesome way, it results in greater productivity. Integrity as an institution: this represents the ethics, economic stability, and wholeness of a healthcare institution locally, statewide and nationally. Best policies are practices and methods adopted by some healthcare organization as standard procedures based on evidenced based findings.

Linkages The comfort theory is inspired by the nursing theories of Orlando, Henderson, Paterson, and Zderad. This is the related connection to other nursing theorists. Logical Organization The theory’s logical organization covers the four aspects of the nursing metaparadigm, as master’s prepared nurses know well, the nursing metaparadigm is composed of four elements, person, environment, health, and nurse. Every nurse and every master’s prepared nurse has to apply these interventions mentioned in the theory on a daily basis. All patients in spite of their state of health, long for comfort. The master’s prepared nurse and all healthcare professionals have to focus on the patients’ comfort and the comfort of their families. Patients come to the hospital or institution with a healthcare need.

Comfort nursing interventions address all patient’s needs holistically. The behaviors might be internal or external. All these are elements of Kolcaba’s theory enveloped in a concept of comfort and caring. Advanced Practice Nurse
 Comfort theory guides advanced practice nurses by empowering them to be ambassadors of comfort and caring by focusing on healing, instead of just treating patients with impersonal interventions. Master’s prepared nurses can benefit from Kolcaba’s theory because it is easily applied to the clinical practice. Practitioners can apply the theory when they identify the patient’s healthcare needs which include: the physical, spiritual, social and environmental. Secondly, comfort measures lead to patient satisfaction and better financial outcomes for the health institution. The one weakness found did not have to do with the theory itself but with its application.

The theory is hard to apply when units are understaffed, the patient/nurse ratios make it extremely hard to do. Contribution to Science of Nursing The theory contributed to nursing as a science because it gave nurses a language to refer to when naming important nursing interventions that are of crucial importance for nursing, patients and for patient’s family members. It also helped enhance the comfort factor in the nursing realm, and by doing that, helped to improve patient’s outcomes. A. , & Pasinlioglu, T. The effect of nursing care based on comfort theory on women's postpartum comfort levels after cesarean sections. International Journal of Nursing Knowledge, 28(3), 138-144. http://dx. http://dx. doi. org/10. 1037/arc0000014 Kolcaba, K. Y. doi. org/10. ep8538567.