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Summary
Patients prioritize comfort, often more than health itself, when seeking healthcare. Nursing interventions should focus on empowering patients to actively manage their comfort needs for better health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Nursing
- Patient-centered care
- Health outcomes
Background:
- The nursing literature frequently discusses comfort but rarely as a primary patient objective.
- Current focus is on comfort as a nursing action rather than an individualized patient goal.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reframe comfort as a central patient objective in healthcare.
- To explore the role of patient-driven comfort needs in healthcare seeking behavior.
- To highlight the importance of nursing interventions in promoting patient self-management of comfort.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and conceptual analysis of comfort in nursing.
- Exploration of patient motivation for seeking healthcare services.
- Framework development for nursing interventions focused on patient comfort.
Main Results:
- Comfort is a significant, potentially primary, driver for patients seeking healthcare.
- Viewing comfort as a patient objective, rather than a nursing action, shifts the focus to patient empowerment.
- Nursing interventions can facilitate patients' identification and implementation of comfort-promoting strategies.
Conclusions:
- Elevating comfort to a central patient objective is crucial for optimizing health.
- Nursing's role includes guiding patients in self-managing comfort needs.
- Addressing patient comfort directly can enhance overall health and well-being.