Unveiling Comfort Measures Only: Nurses’ Perspectives

Project Summary:  “Comfort Measures Only” (CMO) is a medical order which is sometimes applied to guide the care of a seriously ill hospitalized patient. Though commonly used in clinical practice, and ostensibly based in shared understanding, both the limited available literature and our preliminary findings indicate that the label of CMO has unclear and inconsistent meanings across settings and providers. There appear to be common practices that are starkly antithetical to person-centered care. We propose to undertake a close and systematic examination of practices related to CMO from the perspective of registered nurses employed in acute care settings. Grounded theory method will guide data collection and analysis. Findings will contribute to development of practice change interventions to promote the provision of person-centered end of life care.