The Comfort Theory in Pediatric Nursing - Research Paper Example

 Nursing Research Introduction Conceptual framework is important in guiding research. It supplies a model for reasoning which is essential for research work being undertaken (Peterson and Bredow, 2009). There are many ways in which health can be promoted in hospitals and particularly in pediatric nursing. Comfort is not new to human experience. It can be traced back from birth whereby a child stops to cry when held. In hospitals, words of encouragement, care and attention are important to boost recovery process. Comfort is directly linked to its components and therefore can be defined in a number of ways. The common expressions include basic human need, function of nursing care, an outcome or simply a process. The comfort theory is used as a framework to assist in laying down a strategy that would see to a better performance of some of the important procedures. These procedures include needs that arise from children or family. These people require an intervention of a nurse, environmental needs, and effectiveness of intervention. The theory emphasizes on the physical, environmental, psychospiritual and sociocultural aspects of care that are essential in research and practice (Kolcaba and DiMarco, 2005). In pediatric nursing there is need for the child to feel the human presence and at the same time become strengthened. It is also important for both the child and family to feel relief, at ease and experience transcendence (Kolcaba and DiMarco, 2005). Guide to Research Project The purpose of the study was to determine how comfort can be useful in pediatric nursing. There are a number of ways in which comfort theory can be applied in the care of children. This is not only confined to the recovery process of the children but also the family members. Once comfort is enhanced to the recipients, they in turn are able to participate in activities which are vital for health. These health seeking behaviors or activities can be internal or external. Internal behavior occurs at an organ or cell level, such as immune function or healing. On the other hand external behaviors are linked to the world outside. These include functional status, health maintenance programs and self-care activities. Nurses become facilitators of a favorable environment to enhance rehabilitation and recovery. They give assurance to the child and or family of a quick recovery, safety and try as much as possible to keep away from harm. Similarly, there are demands which are meant to be fulfilled by the institution. It is important for the institution to provide an ideal environment to ensure the needs of the family are satisfied. The family might be assured of lower costs, reduced rates of readmission and early discharge. To a greater extend it helps in addressing comfort of the members. Similarly, the nurse needs to feel confident and proud of the institution. The fact that the family is satisfied would in turn translate to satisfaction of the nurse. There are interventions which the nurse can use to reach out to the child and family. These interventions vary from the standard alleviation of pain and suffering, help in relieving anxiety and auxiliary services such as message (Kolcaba and DiMarco, 2005). These other niceties that the nurse offers to the patient are meant to strengthen family and children making them feel well taken care of. In some instances nurses, family and care givers have to face the reality of a peaceful death. As much as nurses try all means possible to keep hope alive the focus gradually shifts to a less painful death. The ability of the nurse to ensure the family and child accept death with less physical or psychological pain is profound in nursing practice. Again, it is due to comfort that the family and child gain strength and are well able to facilitate and accept a peaceful death. In the care of a child or family, comfort does not occur in a vacuum, but a specific context which suits the well being of the patient. The framework stretches to the physical, environmental, sociocultural and psychospiritual contexts. The physical context pertains to homeostatic mechanisms and body sensations. It is also referred to as the internal situations. The environment refers to the surrounding including temperature, furniture, landscape etc. Psychospiritual pertains to awareness of the self, higher being, sexuality, esteem and the meaning of life (Kolcaba and DiMarco, 2005). The relationship with family and general interaction with once society falls under the sociocultural context. It is important that all these contexts be kept into consideration to ensure proper comfort is awarded to the child and family. In as much as the nurse will find it difficult to realize a total relief of the child or family, there must be commitment to provide comfort that is holistic. This is to say that in pediatric experience there is need for intervention to see to an enhancement of transcendence. An individual interprets events on the basis on numerous forces that interact. This in turn is able to influence what is being perceived. These forces that interact consist of emotional state, age, support system, attitude, past experiences and present circumstances. All these sections of the individual act simultaneously thus the need for a general estimation. Importance to Nursing The framework is important to nursing since it is able to unify with other theories which already exist in the profession. This inclusiveness has been proved in a sense that other theories such as anxiety and pain are well unified with the comfort theory. There are a number of measurements of which the theory comes as a substitute. However, as much as these theories and measurements have narrow outcomes; comfort allows for an interaction between various aspects. This outcome is directly influenced by the intervention of the nurse. In applying comfort theory nurses are able to attend to a patient and family in a more caring manner. The patient is valued as a unique individual with complexities that have to be met. Further, all this care and attention is provided within the context of a family system. The framework is essential since it aids integration of various aspects of the society including past experiences. It is holistic in a sense that the environment, physical, sociocultural and psychospiritual aspects of care are taken into consideration. Comfort is part of caring and therefore ideal for nursing practice. The framework is important as it extends the application of the theory in diverse cultures worldwide. Cross-cultural interaction is a reality which nurses have to confront in their practice. A nurse needs to be careful and provide comfort which is relevant to the culture of the patient. The observance and preservation of cultural values is essential in administering comfort to the patient. Health is defined by a number of people as emotional and physical comfort. It is therefore the role of the nurses to boost the health of patients and their families. They need to teach and remind them ways to improve self-comfort. This also applies to the elderly, who require encouragement, to seek lifestyles that enhance comfort and minimize on discomfort. Similarly, the framework allows for the feeling of comfort in death. Studies point to the fact that at some point, loved ones are contented with a perceived comfort in death. It brings some relief and helps ease tension that has been mounting throughout the duration of sickness. The promotion of health is fast becoming a predominant policy in health care. This makes the concept of comfort an important strategy in nursing. The comfort of the patients can be enhanced on a daily basis by nurse by simply being able to provide empathic care. Once the spiritual, psychosocial and physical needs of the patient have been met, the nurse and the patient become copartners in care. The respect awarded to the patient attaches meaning to the experience. Patients are required to learn about themselves, become strong and be able to bring about their own comfort. For the nurse to achieve such an end then one must be highly skilled. This can only be guaranteed with much practice and experience such that the process becomes part of the nurse personality. It no longer requires conscious thought of the nurse thus less likely to be hindered by technological advancement. The nurse understands the needs of the patients, thus able to provide an enabling environment to see to their comfort. Conclusion The comfort theory provides an ideal conceptual framework for the study of pediatric nursing. It provides a good framework since it is able to link with other concepts such as fatigue and anxiety. The human person expects care and comfort from birth. This continues till old age and also in times of illness and death. The fact that nurses are able to offer comfort to patients means that they are involved in the recovery process. The show of comfort is not an end to itself instead it is channeled to make the patient realize ways in which they can achieve self-comfort. In this case the nurse only acts as a companion who enables the patient to realize this end. Providing comfort varies with age of the patient. The environment and circumstance of the patient must also be kept under consideration. This means nurses must be careful to study the patient before they can settle on what is best for an individual. Sometimes it becomes essential to consider the background or culture of the individual. Different cultures have varying perception of what is perceived as comfort. The nurse being able to recognize cultural differences and provide comfort accordingly is an important step towards recovery of the patient. References Kolcaba K & DiMarco M.A (2005). Comfort theory and its application to pediatric nursing. Pediatric Nursing, Vol. 31(3) pp. 187-94 Peterson, S. J. & Bredow T. S. (2009). Middle Range Theories: Application to Nursing Research. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins Read More