Multidimensionality of Comfort in Palliative Care: A Study in Light of Kolcaba’s Comfort Theory

This study's objective was to understand the multidimensionality of comfort experienced by patients receiving palliative care, considering Katharine Kolcaba's Comfort Theory. It consisted of exploratory research based on a qualitative approach and interpreted according to Kolcaba's theoretical framework. The study was conducted through interviews with 17 patients receiving palliative care at 2 public hospitals in the Federal District, Brazil, between December 2020 and December 2022. The interviews were transcribed, and the resulting corpus was submitted to content analysis and interpreted considering Katharine Kolcaba's Comfort Theory. The analysis made possible the understanding of perceptions of comfort across its different senses and contexts. It was possible to develop an overview of the structure designed by Kolcaba, consisting of 12 cells divided among the senses and contexts of comfort, thus confirming its multidimensionality. The theory proved to be clear, simple, precise, and general, attesting that it could be applied to patients receiving palliative care.