The COMFORT Model
The COMFORT Model optimizes communication between nurses, patients, and families, and coworkers—especially during critical care transitions and points of decision-making. Offered as a teachable curriculum of seven modules, advances communication attitude, knowledge, and skill. The model empowers nurses with evidence-based communication practices proven to improve self-efficacy, confidence, and comfort in complex healthcare conversations.
Additional Resources
COMFORT Communication App
This is a smartphone application (app). As an mHealth translation of the COMFORT curriculum, it is designed to provide supportive communication tools for healthcare providers encountering communication challenges with patients, families, and team members. Written at a sixth-grade level, it offers practice suggestions to support healthcare providers. When tested, participants found it easy to use and navigate, indicating they would use the app with patients, families and other team members. A revised version now includes COVID-19 communication resources for providers.
Plain Language Planner
This tool breaks down into plain language (both Spanish and English) common medications and treatments that cancer patients receive. It describes side effects that patients may experience in easy-to-understand words and gives, also in plain language, practical suggestions on how to prepare for treatment. In short, it removes the mystery from the long and complicated terms patients may hear in the course of their cancer journey. The COMFORT Plain Language Planner is available in hard copy and as part of the COMFORT Health Communication App. This application was tested on a group of 155 health care professionals and a comparison between written responses before and after the education sessions showed improvement in the use of plain language.