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Facilitating comfort for hospitalized patients using non-pharmacological measures: Preliminary development of clinical practice guidelines |
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| Authors: | Anne M Williams RN PhD Anne Davies BSc PhD and Gareth Griffiths RN BSc |
| Affiliation: | Associate Professor, The Western Australian Centre for Cancer and Palliative Care, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Western Australia, Australia;Research Consultant, Centre for Nursing Research, Innovations and Quality and SolarisCare Foundation, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; PhD student, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia; Project Officer, Western Australian Palliative Care Network, Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Abstract: | Nurses often use non-pharmacological measures to facilitate comfort for patients within the hospital setting. However, guidelines for use of these measures are commonly inadequate or absent. This paper presents 12 clinical practice guidelines that were developed from the findings of a literature review into non-pharmacological measures that are thought to facilitate patient comfort. The non-pharmacological measures addressed in these guidelines are: Aromotherapy, Distraction, Guided Imagery, Laughter, Massage, Music, Reiki, Heat or Cold, Meditation, Reflexology, Reposition and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. These are preliminary guidelines for the use of non-pharmacological measures and further research and development of such guidelines is recommended. |
| Keywords: | comfort complementary therapies hospitalization practice guideline review literature |
