comfort are discussed in this article, which includes its
philosophic orientation and its inductive, deductive,
and retroductive reasoning. Other steps that are
described are the concept analysis of comfort, the
operationalization of the outcome of patient comfort,
the application of the theory in previous nursing
studies, and the evaluation of the current theory as it
has been adapted for outcomes research. This article
is a guide that shows how a concept grows, becomes
embedded in theory, is tested, and is adapted for the
rapidly changing health care environment. The
theory of comfort also offers a way to reconceptualize
nurse productivity.