Analysis of Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort

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Table of Contents

Types and Components of Nursing Theories
Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort
Comfort, Well-being, and Quality of Life
The Efficiency of the COMFORT model in Nursing Practice
Conception of Comfort
Correlation Between Metaparadigm Concepts and Kolcaba’s Theory
Examples of the Efficiency of Kolcaba’s Theory for the Nursing Practice
Conclusion
References

Types and Components of Nursing Theories

Many nursing theories are known all over the world. There are three types of them: grand, midrange, and practice. The first one usually consists of abstract and global ideas of ameliorating the medical system; the second one is about the synthase of theoretical issues and their use in reality. The third one proposes real steps to improve the exciting way of helping patients. In general, their purpose is to provide new solutions for the practice in this sphere.

It is also important to mention several components of nursing models. The first one is understanding the aim of the work. It means that all healthcare workers have to analyze what they are fighting for. The second one is a personal set of values of a nurse. Expressing beliefs and thoughts with a patient is a permanent part of the treatment process. The last one is about the environment: it includes skills, knowledge, equipment, and patience for helping others. These components are an essential part of every nursing model.

Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort

At the end of the 20th century, Katharine Kolcaba invented her theory based on her personal experience as a nurse. She called it “theory of comfort”; and the naming fully represents the main idea. The researcher claims that the quality of life is a fundamental need for all patients without dependence on their condition (Williams et al., 2017). What is more, it is necessary to pay attention not only to sick people but also to their families, relatives, friends. Well-being becomes extremely important in stressful situations that are caused by the disease. That is why the support of the nurse in that particular moment is so crucial.

Comfort, Well-being, and Quality of Life

The principal hypothesis of Kolcaba is that comfort is as obligatory as treatment. However, this term is too abstract to have the only possible meaning. To have a clearer understanding, the scientists from Portugal examined the definition of three words: comfort, quality of life, and well-being (Pinto et al., 2017). The conclusion is that comfort is associated with safety, calmness, friendly communication, and the absence of symptoms. The quality of life is a broader term that includes the idea of a good life and human dignity. The thoughts about happiness, mental health, and energy are correlated with well-being (Pinto et al., 2017). Distinguishing these phrases is essential for a nurse to see the real needs of patients and to provide them with the type of comfort they want.

The Efficiency of the COMFORT model in Nursing Practice

The appearance of the theory of comfort was of great success. There are still new researches and academic papers based on this model. For example, there is a COMFORT model, that is supposed to examine the way of communication between the nurse and the patient in the hospice (Wittenberg et al., 2019). It covers seven different principles: C–connect, O–options, M–making meaning, F–family caregivers, O–opening, R–relating, and T–team (Wittenberg et al., 2019). This way to divide the methods of taking care is useful to find the connection between the theoretical ideas and their practical value for sick people. These categories are a sort of rating scale for a nurse to understand what she has to do besides the formal procedures.

The COMFORT model seems to be abstract and not related to the treatment itself. Nevertheless, by applying this principle, a nurse would become a more efficient healthcare worker. As an example, it is possible to analyze the “team” category (Wittenberg et al., 2019). It provides some advice on how to communicate both with colleagues and with the family of a patient. In palliative medicine relatives and friends of a sick person become his or her care team. That is why it is essential to explain to them how to be supportive and strong during this severe time. The nurse has to play the role of a tutor which is not easy and, at the same time, is not a part of the professional obligations. Nonetheless, if the caregiver would acquire the skills described in the book, there would be more chances to be efficient and helpful for the patient and his family.

Conception of Comfort

The purpose of the nursing conceptual models is to guide the scientists or the healthcare workers in the huge amount of the theoretical basis of the subject. For the theory of Kolcaba, there is a self-titled model of the patient’s comfort and safety. The main idea is that these factors are as vital as the other medical procedures, and it affects the well-being of a sick person directly. Kolcaba’s theory serves as an implication of the abstract model. It provides concrete steps for a nurse to make the life of a human more pleasant.

Correlation Between Metaparadigm Concepts and Kolcaba’s Theory

There are four main concepts in the nursing metaparadigm: health, nursing, environment, and person. The health component is related directly to Kolcaba’s theory: it represents the level of intellectual, social, mental, and physical health. It is possible to assume that, in general, it is the way to rate the comfort of a person. For the second component – nursing – the situation is the same. It is calculated as the sum of the technologies, equipment, skills, treatment, and care of a human (Fawcett, 2016). Without support and communication, nursing cannot be efficient; that is why this factor also corresponds to the theory of comfort.

The third part, environment, includes the relationships with family and friends. As it was discussed in the preceding paragraphs, the nurse has the role of a tutor for the relatives to teach them how to aid the patient. The last principle reflects the quality of life in general that includes the feeling of happiness and comfort. Metaparadigm concept is based on the well-being of a person; comfort and safety described by Katharine Kolcaba are the integral parts of it.

Examples of the Efficiency of Kolcaba’s Theory for the Nursing Practice

Not everyone believes that nursing theories have a real implication in the medical sphere. What is more, even some of the nurses do not trust these concepts and ideas. However, many examples that prove the efficiency of the models exist nowadays. Professor Williams (2017) researched the impact of the nurse on the mental well-being of a patient. It was established that if all the three factors – environment, treatment, and communication – are organized well, then the patient feels comfortable and safe (Williams et al., 2017). The paper is focused on the necessity of taking into consideration emotional control and mental health in the process of evaluating the patient’s condition.

The feeling of comfort is vital for sick people in the hospices. It is proved in the scientific article of Sarah Taylor (2018), who investigated the quality of life in the sphere of palliative medicine. Even though this industry needs many improvements, the interviewed patients talked about the necessity of communication and friendly relations with the nurses. The researcher herself puts forward the idea that caregivers should be more attentive to sick people and their families.

The last example is a personal experience of Amy Berman, who lives with the IV stage of cancer (Wittenberg et al., 2019). She describes her experience and points out that the lack of communication and empathy from nurses and doctors was very stressful for her. She stays for the comfort model because it helps to reduce the level of nervousness and gives some hope for a patient. She states that implying the main principles of this concept would not save millions of life but would make them happier and calmer.

Conclusion

Emotional well-being and the sense of safety and peace play a significant role for a patient during the treatment. Nurses communicate with them more than anyone else; that is why it is so important to imply the theory in the nursing practice.

References

Fawcett, J. (2016). Applying conceptual models of nursing: Quality improvement, research, and practice. Springer Publishing Company.

Pinto, S., Fumincelli, L., Mazzo, A., Caldeira, S., & Martins, J. C. (2017). Comfort, well-being and quality of life: Discussion of the differences and similarities among the concepts. Porto Biomedical Journal, 2(1), 6-12.

Taylor, S. F. (2018). Understanding quality of care in a hospice setting [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Walden University.

Williams, A. M., Lester, L., Bulsara, C., Petterson, A., Bennett, K., Allen, E., & Joske, D. (2017). Patient Evaluation of Emotional Comfort Experienced (PEECE): Developing and Testing a Measurement Instrument. BMJ Open, 7(1), 2-9.

Wittenberg, E., Goldsmith, J. V., Ragan, S. L., & Parnell, T. A. (2019). Communication in palliative nursing: The COMFORT model. Oxford University Press.

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