Comfort. Immigrant Hispanic cancer patients' views.

This study focuses on the meaning of comfort from the perspective of immigrant Hispanic cancer patients undergoing treatment at a large Western medical center. Patients (n = 10), in 30 ethnographical interviews conducted in Spanish by a culturally sensitive interviewer identified characteristics, needs, and sources of comfort. The characteristics of comfort were: feeling integrated, functioning and normalcy, care and nurturing, security and safety, control and "comodo." Comfort needs evolved into 6 categories: nurturing, familiar environment, safety, quality of life, normalcy, and "animo." Providers of comfort, as perceived by these Hispanic patients were: self, family, health care providers, and God. The characteristics of comfort most frequently talked about by the Hispanic participants were feeling integrated and nurtured. Integrated, a seemingly complex characteristic of comfort, reflected a sense of inner peace with oneself that went beyond the physical comfort. Function and normalcy were also perceived to be important aspects of comfort. It is important to note that the Hispanic patients on occasion used culturally relevant terms, such as comodo and animo (neither of which are readily translated into English) to convey their impressions of comfort. The study demonstrates that comfort is important in illness and cancer treatment situations, and that for these Hispanic patients it also had influence from their culture.

[The importance of the word "comfort" from the viewpoint of patients with acute myocardial infarct]. / Os significados da palavra conforto segundo a perspectiva do paciente com infarto agudo do miocárdio.

This investigation included 25 male adult patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction admitted in a Coronary Disease Unit located in the Municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. It aimed at identifying the meaning those patients give to the word comfort. Data collection was carried using a specific form and manually processed; answers to open questions were treated using the BARDIN's content analysis method and the results were basically analysed in absolute numbers and percentages and organized in tables and figures. Comfort was expressed by several ways, from material and financial conditions, enjoyment of personal interactions, sense of physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being to normal functioning which means recovery expectations, disease-freedom and capacity to perform usual activities. Material and financial conditions (29,4%) and personal interactions (21,6%) were emphasized. In addition to the conclusions directly related to the objective, the results showed that: (a) viewing the multidimensional aspects related to comfort, it should not be exclusively considered as dependent of nursing care; (b) various indicators identified suggested that the same meaning for comfort was expressed or described in most varied ways.

[Caring for the cancer patient: how can nurses face this challenge?]. / Assistir o paciente oncológico: como as enfermeiras poderão enfrentar este desafio?

This paper presents a report of the experience the authors had in taking care of 103 hospitalized oncology patients based on a particular framework. They reflect upon the nursing care provided to those patients, and also emphasizing patient's statements regarding their lived experience.