Analysis Of Katherine Koolcaba's Theory Of Comfort

As an RN whose specialties have included Medical, Geriatric and Pediatrics, I am drawn to learn more about Katherine Kolcabas Theory of Comfort. It is also the theory from which my organization based its pain and comfort documentation requirements upon.

Katherine Kolcaba is a nursing theorist who developed the Theory of Comfort in 1990. It is a “middle range theory for health practice, education and research” (Kolcaba, 2011) with a focus on comfort. The three forms of comfort that Kolcaba describes are relief, ease and transcendence. It is these terms that my organization utilizes in documentation of pain and comfort in the electronic health record.

Comfort may be experienced with relief by administering medications to a patient experiencing

The main tenants of Katherine Kolcaba’s theory can be summarized and defined in the four concepts in the metaparadigm of nursing. The first concept is Person. This can be defined as any individual or group in need of health care and is not restricted to the patient.

The second concept, the environment, is the setting that can be controlled by the nurse or an individual to augment comfort. (Masters, 2017). In a hospital setting this could include dimming the lights, providing a low stimulation environment, or limiting visitors. Another example may be removing an individual from a situation that is not conducive to healing. Health is the third concept and refers to the orchestration and collaboration of those involved in assisting the patient to a state of well-being. Lastly, the concept of nursing describes the utilization of the nursing process of assessment, planning, intervention to meet the comfort needs of the individual and evaluating the effectiveness of those

Physical pain is more easily addressed by the administration of medication or a non-pharmaceutical intervention like repositioning, or the application of heat or cold. Nursing care on a general medical unit is about patient and family centered care which is in alignment with Kolcaba’s Theory of Comfort. A large portion of the patients seen on this type of unit have multiple comorbidities and challenging social situations that require assessment of their past health history, their support system, and their current living situation. All of this is taken into consideration in multidisciplinary rounds where data that is collected is communicated to all disciplines and a plan of care developed for each patient. The unit which I currently manage assembles our multidisciplinary unit daily. Needs are identified and assigned to the team members who include social work, care management and therapies in addition to the nurses and the providers. Since the team meets daily there is an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions prescribed. Nursing care management is integral in this work as part of the assessment, planning, and coordination of care in the hospital

WEEK 2 READING REVIEW 4

setting and as the patient returns to their home and community. The goal by all involved is to move the patient towards