Theory of Comfort and How it Relates to Nursing Theories organize disciplinary thinking and influence practice and research (Kolcaba, 2001). Mid range theories contain few concepts and relationships, are adaptable to a wide range of practice and experience, can be built from many sources, and are concrete enough to be tested (Kolcaba, 2001). This is in comparison to grand theories, which are abstract, complicated, and removed from practice (Kolcaba, 2001). Mid Range theories are compelling for the modern day nursing community (kolcaba, 2001). The theory of comfort states that if presented with a stressful health-related situation, nurses are able to meet unmet needs for comfort (Kolcaba, 2001). Enhanced comfort of the patient has a positive and direct effect on them agreeing to health-seeking behaviors, indicators of improved health. …show more content…
Pediatric care is extremely individualized with the treatment plan for each child, families are highly encouraged to participate in goal setting, and the type of care is proactive with the intention of family-centered education (DiMarco & Kolcaba, 2005). The comfort theory can be intervened with all age groups. Some interventions that may be used to comfort a child or family during a stressful time are social, psychospiritual, environmental, and physical (Dimarco & Kolcaba, 2005). An example of each are; social, avoidance of using the word pain, psychospiritual, during a simple procedure you may have the parent present, environmental, utilization of a treatment room instead of the patients room, and physical, comfort of the patient with procedures and in bed (DiMarco & Kolcaba, 2005). Comfort is able to provide the patient with a positive outcome that encourage them and their families to commit themselves to health-seeking behaviors (DiMarco & Kolcaba,
This is achieved through the close relationship of the family members the pediatric patient. Safety is increased because the family members are treated as part of the health care team and not simply visitors (Moore, Coker, DuBuisson, Swett, & Edwards, 2003). Furthermore, the patients are able to communicate with personnel about what they see happening to their child as well as making decisions regarding what treatments they want their infant to receive (Moore et al., 2003). The input from the patient 's family is very important in ensuring patient safety because the family members know the patient much better than medical staff (IWK Health Centre, 2016). This allows family members to more acutely notice changes in the pediatric patients status which allows them to quickly notify health care professionals. This could prove very beneficial when providing care for a pediatric patient in intensive
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
American Academy of Pediactrics. (2003). Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s Role. Available: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/112/3/691.full. Last accessed 23/01/14.
Also, the whole family needs to come to term with the health condition, make change in priorities and schedule, and keep the family. For example, it can be much more stressful for a young or a newly married couple because they may have more experience to overcome life's difficulties. As a result, as with individual maturation, family development can be delayed or even revert to a previous level of functioning (Hockenberry, p 762.) Therefore, health care providers need to apply family development theory while planning care for a child and family with chronic health condition. Indeed, family centered care should be a part of that intervention. Parents and family members have huge and comprehensive caregiving responsibilities for their chronically ill child at home or at hospital. Moreover, the main goal taking care of chronic ill child is to “minimize the progression of the disease and maximize the child’s physical, cognitive, psychological potential” (Hockenberry, p 763). Therefore, it is essential to family being part of the child care to give highest quality of care. On the other hand, we are as a part of the health care provider need to give attention to all
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. M. (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing (3rd ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
McIntyre, M. & McDonald, C. (2014). Nursing Philosophies, Theories, Concepts, Frameworks, and Models. In Koizer, B., Erb, G., Breman, A., Snyder, S., Buck, M., Yiu, L., & Stamler, L. (Eds.), Fundamentals of Canadian nursing (3rd ed.). (pp.59-74). Toronto, Canada: Pearson.
The metaparadigm encompasses the major philosophical orientations of a discipline, the models and theories that guide research, and the empirical indicators that operationalize theoretical concepts. The purpose or function of the metaparadigm is to summarize the intellectual and social mission of the nursing discipline and place boundaries on the subject matter of that discipline (McEwen & Wills, 2014). The four metaparadigm of the discipline of nursing are person or client, environment, health, and nursing (Parker, 2001). A person or client is the recipient of nursing care. The environment is the internal or external surroundings that affect the client. Health is the degree of wellness or well-being that the client experiences. The nursing concept refers to the attributes and actions
As a CCLS there are many family-centered care (FCC) interventions that one can facilitate and introduce that are related to educating the patient and family on the disease, managing patient pain, and adhering to treatments for children and adolescents. Providing FCC is an important aspect of the job of a CCLS. FCC is characterized by the inclusion of the patient and family into the healthcare team and treatment options while maintaining the core concepts of FCC (dignity & respect, collaboration, involvement, and information sharing). Three specific medical conditions where these FCC interventions would be beneficial are cystic fibrosis (CF), type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and leukemia. CF is a respiratory disease that causes difficulties
& Willis, E. M. explains the middle-range theories were first introduced in sociology in 1960’s then were offered in nursing in 1974 focusing on emerging disciplines because they were available to introduce through research in compare to grand theories. Middle-range nursing theory was established fifteen years later, and is reinforced by repeated criticism of the summary of grand theories and their difficulties in use to research and practice. The reason of middle-range theory is to define, clarify, and predict occurrences that easer to apply in practical situations, and potentially to direct nursing interventions, change circumstances of situations to improve the care and potentially best outcome. Focus on middle-range theory is supported by theoretical framework for research studies, tested by research and use in practice, and scientific end product expressing nursing knowledge. (McEwen, M. & Willis, E. M.,
McEwen, M., & Wills, E. (2011). Theoretical Basis for Nursing (3 ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Theory’s responsibility is to provide nurses with standards that reinforce practice, as well as, for future nursing understanding and delivery. Basically, it provides nursing professionals with a tested way of thought on how to handle certain situations with proven results. The importance of nursing theories to nursing research is the knowledge offered gives nurses the foundation for communicating with others and best practice. Middle range theory according to McEwen & Wills (2011, p 35) are theories that have concrete concepts, that are specific, incorporate a measured number of concepts and characteristics of the real world and are tested for accuracy.
To make good nursing decisions, nurses require an internal roadmap with knowledge of nursing theories. Nursing theories, models, and frameworks play a significant role in nursing, and they are created to focus on meeting the client’s needs for nursing care. According to McEwen and Wills (2014), conceptual models and theories could create mechanisms, guide nurses to communicate better, and provide a “systematic means of collecting data to describe, explain, and predict” about nursing and its practice (p. 25). Most of the theories have some common concepts; others may differ from one theory to other. This paper will evaluate two nursing theorists’ main theories include Sister Callista Roy’s
Because these theory are known to have direct linkages to research and practice Most of these theory are developed from research, observation and experiences I do believe that Most nurses will agree with me if I say that the evidence based practice is a main engine for health well-being .Middle range theory signifies a growth of knowledge development in Nursing. Middle range theories offer valuable organizing frameworks for phenomena being researched by interdisciplinary terms. These theories are useful to nurses and persons from other discipline in framing phenomena of shared concern. (Archive, 2015).Middle-range theories are useful in addressing the problems of nursing, especially among vulnerable populations. Although middle-range theories address specific phenomena within nursing practice, the theories are broad enough to be applied to a variety of patient populations, and across many practice settings (Mareno, 2015). The language of middle –range theories is that used in nursing practice to deal with patient care phenomena such as pain ,unpleasant symptoms, empathy, uncertainty, comfort, change, lifestyle health promotion, relationships ,and deliberative planning for
Nursing behaviors that improve patient comfort are as simple as positioning and repositioning, knowing patients special comfort habits, and advocating for family presence (Kolcaba & DiMarco, 2005). It is important to use a measurement tool to assess comfort and remember to reassess for a positive outcome or plan a new intervention. Comfort is associated with the pursuit of healthy behavior, increased patient satisfaction, and better cost-benefit ratios (Kolcaba & DiMarco, 2005). Although Watson’s caring model is a broad philosophy that applies to nursing practice in general, nurses utilizing this theory would find Kolcaba’s middle-range comfort theory aligns well within the framework those
Each day, medical research is taken to new and improved levels changing life as we know it. The experiments grow ─along with technology─ and shape this world for the better. Since no one in this world is alike, treatments are being discovered to take care of patients in their own ways. To fit with all these differentiated needs, healthcare has been broken up into multiple categories. Each section is specifically responsible for the unique care of patients but the end goal over all, is the same (treating others). One of the best known units of healthcare that is needed today is Pediatrics. Children under the age of five in America receive better healthcare from their pediatrician than an average family doctor. The specialist in the medical field came to this conclusion by stating that a pediatrician has the specialized knowledge needed in caring for the youth population. As I prove this study to be factual, my research paper will explain how pediatrics came about over time, how much of an alteration there is between a pediatrician and a family doctor, and why this particular care is essential to all children.