Testing Katharine Kolcaba Theory of Comfort

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test Katharine Kolcaba's theory of comfort by evaluating the effectiveness of integrative comfort care interventions on discomfort experienced by children (aged 5–10 years) during the postoperative period. An experimental approach, pretest-and-posttest control group design, was used for evaluating the effectiveness of integrative comfort care interventions on discomfort experienced by children. Sample was composed of 200 children, selected using purposive sampling technique with random assignment to experimental and control groups. Kolcaba's Comfort Theory was used to assess the child's condition and then plan and deliver integrative comfort care interventions. The steps that followed for data collection, planning, and implementing effective care were based on the presuppositions of the theory. The tools used for data collection were demographics, a Comfort Behaviors Checklist, and the Comfort Daisies tool. Comfort care interventions were delivered through nursing process approach. These interventions were addressed across physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and environmental aspects. After the application of theory, the analysis revealed improvement in the comfort level of the subjects. Mann–Whitney U test was used to find out the significant difference in posttest postoperative discomfort scores among subjects in the experimental and control groups. Findings were significant at <.001. The findings revealed that subjects who received integrative comfort care interventions using the comfort theory experienced more comfort as compared with the subjects in the control group.