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KOLCABA
THEORY OF
COMFORT
{
Presented by:
Kristine Cargill R.N.
Emily Dutmers R.N.
Amanda Niedzwiecki R.N.
Stephanie Yohn R.N.
COMFORT THEORY
Comfort may be a blanket or breeze,
some ointment here to soothe my knees;
a listening ear to hear my woes,
a pair of footies to warm my toes;
A PRN medication to ease my pain,
someone to reassure me once again;
A call from my doctor, or even a friend,
a rabbi or priest as my life nears its end.
Comfort is whatever I perceive it to be,
a necessary thing defined only by me.
-S.D. Lawrence (student nurse)
(Kolcaba, 2003, p.1)
http://www.thecomfortline.com/index.html
INFLUENCES ON KOLCABAS
PHILOSOPHY
Three Types of Comfort
(Kolcaba, 1991)
Four Contexts of
Comfort
Physical
Psychospiritual
Environmental
Social
Relief- experience of a patient who has had a specific comfort need met
Ease- a state of calm or contentment
Transcendence- the state in which one rises above problems of pain
(Kolcaba, 2006)
TAXONOMIC STRUCTURE
Relief
Ease
Transcendence
Physical
Psychospiritu
al
Environment
al
Social
NURSING METAPARADIGM
Human beings
Environment
Health
Nursing
HUMAN BEINGS
ENVIRONMENT
HEALTH
NURSING
(Kolcaba, 2006)
(Kolcaba, 1995)
IMPLICATIONS &
CONSEQUENCES
EVALUATION
Clarification of
Origins
Katherines philosophy evolved from holism, human
needs and Murrays Theory of Human Press (1938)
and was designed only for nursing (Kolcaba, 2003
pp. 60-66). It was just recently that Katherine
thought about a 4th philosophy from nursing
(Kolcaba, 2003, p. 66 para 2).
Henry Murray
PRACTICE
Advanced
Directives- guide to
make decisions
about care and pain
management
(Vendlinski &
Kolcaba, 1997)
PerianesthesiaClinical Practice
Guidelines
(retrieved from
http://www.aspan
.org/
)
The
Comfort
Theory
Healthy Bladder
Program for Urinary
Incontinence in
older adults (Schirm
et al., 2004)
Pediatrics-assisting
the child with self
comforting actions
such as rocking
(Kolcaba & DiMarco,
2005)
CASE STUDY
15 year old female, diabetic patient was admitted to the hospital for a
second time in one month with hyperglycemia. She was found to be crying
and withdrawn, curled up in the fetal position in the dark. Staff is
concerned because she does not want to participate in administering
insulin, checking her blood sugars, and meal planning. She indicates that
she feels different than everyone else and wants to be able to eat
whatever she wants.
Types of Comfort
Context of
Comfort
Relief
Physical
Ease
Transcendence
Psychospiritual
Environmental
Sociocultural
REFERENCES:
Apostolo, J.L.A., & Kolcaba, K., (2009). The effects of guided
imagery on comfort, depression, anxiety, and stress of psychiatric
inpatients with depressive disorders. Archives of Psychiatric
Nursing, 23(6), 403-411
Kolcaba. (1991). A Taxonomic Structure for the. Journal of
Scholarship , 23 (4), pp. 237-240.
Nursing
REFERENCES:
March, A., McCormick, D. (2009). Nursing theory-directed
healthcare modifying kolcabas comfort theory as an
institution-wide approach. Holistic Nursing Practice 23(2),
75-80. Retrieved from PubMed
pp.
Schirm, V., Baumgardner, J., Dowd, T., Gregor, S., & Kolcaba, K.,
(2004). NGNA. Development of a healthy bladder education
program for older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 25(5), pp 301- 306.
Retrieved from CINAHL
Vendlinski, S., & Kolcaba, K. Y. (1997). Comfort care: a framework
for hospice nursing. American Journal of Hospice & Palliative
Care, 14(6), 271-276. Retrieved from PubMed
http://www.thecomfortline.com/index.html
http://www.aspan.org
http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Katherine-Kolcaba.php