Middle Range Theory:Katharine Kolcaba's Comfort Theory - Essay Example

Basing its argument on Katharine Kolcaba’s comfort theory, this paper will discuss the above scenario showing how the theory can be applied in the case. Katharine Kolcaba is an American nursing theorist and professor. Katharine was born in Ohio in 1994. She is famous for her comfort theory, which is used in hospitals and nursing homes all over the USA. The theory of comfort was first released by Katharine in 1994. A subsequent publication got released in 2001 and expanded on the theory. The theory comprises of steps that get geared towards providing holistic health care.

The theory entails providing care to both patients and families in all health care settings. The theory can be described as a mid-range theory. The reason is that the theory has limited number of concepts. The theory is also easy to apply. The theory states that one understands the steps that comprise it in order to have a clear understanding of it (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). The first step is getting to understand the meaning of comfort. Comfort according to the theory can be defined as the state of getting strengthened through having the human needs for relief, ease and transcendence.

Comfort can be addressed in four contexts; the physical, psycho-spiritual, socio-cultural and environmental. The four contexts of comfort must be provided for a patient to be said to be having comfort. In the theory, Katharine described health care needs as those identified by the patient in a given setting. Katharine further described intervening variables as those factors that are not likely to change. The providers of this comfort have little control over them. The theory involves a series of steps that had to be taken to provide the patient with the desired comfort.

The first step involved the nurse identifying the comfort needs of the patient. After identifying the needs, the nurse could come up with appropriate ways through which those needs could be provided (Parker