IMPAIRED COMFORT AT THE END OF LIFE: AN ASSOCIATION WITH NURSING DIAGNOSIS AND CLINICAL VARIABLES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the associations between the clinical variables and the Nursing diagnoses of NANDA-I Taxonomy II with the presence of Impaired comfort. Method: a quantitative and analytical study conducted with 66 individuals with end-of-life oncological disease, admitted to a specialized institution in the Federal District, Brazil. Primary data were collected between February and November 2018, which covered social, demographic and clinical variables, in addition to three validated scales to identify Nursing diagnoses. To assess the association of impaired comfort (dependent variable) as a function of the independent variables (Nursing diagnosis and clinical variables), the Mann-Whitney non-parametric test and Pearson s chi-square test were used, considering p< 0.05 as significant. Results: a total of 960 diagnoses were identified in 66 patients. There was a positive relationship with Impaired comfort for the following Nursing diagnoses: Chronic pain; Impaired physical mobility; Self-care deficit (for feeding, bathing, intimate hygiene and dressing); Chronic sorrow and Dysfunctional family processes. The following clinical variables showed a statistically significant relationship regarding impaired comfort: time of palliative care, pain, tiredness, appetite, sorrow, anxiety and well-being. Conclusion: an association of the pain, impaired physical mobility, self-care deficit and chronic sorrow nursing diagnoses with impaired comfort was identified. Among the clinical variables, there was a relationship between time of palliative care and symptoms.