Katharine Kolcaba Comfort Theory Kathryn Bertke Nancy Harroun

Katharine Kolcaba Comfort Theory Kathryn Bertke, Nancy Harroun, Courtney Noel, Brittany Pharo, Melinda Turner

Introduction �The comfort theory is a nursing theory developed in the 1990’s by Katherine Kolcaba placing comfort in the forefront once again and providing frame-work for patient’s well-being.

Comfort Theory and it’s Implications for Evidence Based Practice � Places nurses in a position to “identify the comfort needs of their patients, design comfort measures, assess their comfort measures in order to provide holistic care of their patients and families (The Comfortliners, 2013). ” � Provides direction for quality improvement � Guides development of clinical practice guidelines � Ensures continuing education for the nursing profession which allows this profession to continue to evolve.

�Person- Patients can be anyone in need, individuals, families, institutions, communities �Environment- Any element of patient, family, or circumstances that can be influenced by nurse or family to improve comfort �Health- Optimal functioning as defined by patient, family, community �Nursing- Assessing patient’s comfort needs, intervening, and evaluating

How can the Comfort Theory Improve Health Care? • Addresses the human needs, as well as the health care needs of the patient and the family members • Utilizes a holistic approach to patient care • Is simplistic enough to be understood and consistently used by all • Contributes to development of institutional standards of practice

REFERENCES � Black, B. (2011). Professional nursing (7 th ed). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders � Comfort theory. (2011). In Nursing theories: A companion to nursing theories and models. Retrieved from http: //currentnursing. com/nursing_theory/comfort_theory_Kat hy_Kolcaba. html � Kolcaba, K. , Tilton, C. , & Droulin, C. (2006). Comfort theory: A unifying framework to enhance the practice environment. Journal of Nursing Administration, 36(11), 538 -544. Retrieved from www. ncbi. nlm. nih. go/pubmed/17099440 � The Comfortliners. (2013, October 21). Comfort care in nursing: A blog dedicated to advocate Dr. Katharine Kolcaba's comfort theory in nursing [Web log post]. Retrieved from http: //comfortcareinnursing. blogspot. com/p/comfort-theoryand-nursing-practice_08. html