Comfort in the emergency service: the experience of families of critically ill patients

Background: When facing a critical illness, patients and their families need comfort. Objective: To understand how families of critically ill patients experience comfort in emergency settings. Methodology: This exploratory descriptive mixed-method study uses semi-structured interviews in a non-probability convenience sample of ten family members of critically ill patients in emergency services. Results: Comfort was described as a state/perception of security, with emphasis on psychospiritual and physical dimensions. Comfort-promoting factors were related to nurses’ positive attitudes/interactions and technical-scientific and relational skills, with emphasis on the psychospiritual dimension. Suggestions for comfort promotion focused on the development of relational and communication skills. Conclusion: Comfort is associated with the situation/circumstance experienced and is transitory. In emergency services, comfort emerges as a dimension that nurses can adjust by harmonizing interests and performing specific actions that empower the families of critically ill patients.