Kolcaba's Theory: Human Experience Of Comfort

According to Kolcaba’s theory, the human experience of comfort takes place in four domains (Kolcaba et al., 2006). As mentioned before, pain management is a vital concept to Mrs. X’s quality of life. Mrs. X’s physical comfort will be achieved, if her pain is addressed. The client’s powerlessness has caused her to feel as though she has no control. In a psychospiritual context, Mrs. X’s existential fears need to be addressed for her to achieve comfort. Socioculturally, Mrs. X’s risk for social isolation is a very important concept. Interpersonal relationships are an important aspect for this type of comfort. Mrs. X often states she feels very alone; meaning her sociocultural comfort is not being met (Kolcaba et al., 2006). Environmental comfort refers to the background of Mrs. X’s experiences. Mrs. X states that she often feels forgotten because the

Mrs. X understands that internal healing is no longer appropriate as death is soon inevitable. Externally, Mrs. X’s health seeking behaviours can be met by controlling her pain and promoting an optimal quality of life. A peaceful death is the most important health seeking behaviour that needs to be met. Mrs. X is currently receiving palliative care, so a peaceful death is the ultimate goal that needs to be achieved for Mrs. X to feel comfort (Kolcaba, 2010) Ovarian cancer generally has a poor prognosis and is not usually identified until stage III or stage IV. The survival rate for ovarian cancer is only 20% for five years and individuals often have a poor prognosis once diagnosed (Huh Shinn et al., 2009). Ovarian cancer is an insidious disease, as individuals often misinterpret their symptoms as menopause, urinary or gastrointestinal problems (Guenther & Dimmitt, 2011). Risk factors for ovarian cancer include a family history of ovarian cancer, nulliparity and increasing age (Lewis, Dirksen, Heitkemper, Bucher, & Camera,