Comfort Theory

Comfort Theory

            I prefer Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory. This theory encapsulates the core principles of holistic nursing by describing the different types of comfort and the contexts in which patients experience them. The theory encourages the nurse to focus on the whole being rather than just the illness. Each nursing intervention should bring calmness, contentment and unity for the patient (Snowden, Donnell, & Duffy, 2014). Applying Kolcaba’s Theory to the day-to-day nursing interventions enables the nurse to deliver optimal health for individuals and groups through sustained harmonious interactions and balance of the body, mind, spirit and the environment.

            The Comfort Theory can be used in palliative care to guide the assessment and management of total pain in the terminally ill patients. The complete assessment and management of total pain requires the palliative care team to respond to the physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual distress by the patient. The Comfort theory describes these contexts clearly and comprehensively (Marie, 2013). It provides the palliative care team with a model within which to asses objectively and systematically each individual’s needs. The team can then implement the relevant responses to deliver holistic care. 

            Kolcaba’s Theory can be used to guide my MSN project. My area of interest is unrelieved pain that persists with the application of the standard pharmacological interventions. The review of the problem in the context of the Comfort Theory could offer crucial insights on the factors leading to the misdiagnosis and non-treatment of the unrelieved pain (Coelho, Parola, Escobar-Bravo, & Apóstolo, 2016). The theoretical model will guide the study of the interactions among the physical, psychosocial, emotional and spiritual distress in patients and the multidimensional approaches that the palliative care nurse can apply to identify and respond effectively to the obstinate pain.