Using Comfort Theory for Addressing the Psychosocial Needs of an Afghan Refugee Child with Thalassemia: A Case Report.

Abstract

Psychological and social support is one of the factors that promote resilience in refugee children. Immigrant children with thalassemia have special psychosocial needs in the host country. The comfort model can help identify psychosocial needs. We applied Kolcaba's comfort theory to an 8-year-old Afghan boy with a history of thalassemia in Iran. According to Kolcaba's model, the taxonomy of psychological and social comfort needs were separation from mother, anxiety due to unfamiliarity with the hospital, fear of interaction and preference for silence, different culture and place of living, language barrier. To address his psychospiritual and sociocultural comfort care, we used coaching and comfort food interventions recommended by Kolcaba. The use of Kolcaba's Comfort Theory was helpful in promoting the child's emotional and social comfort in the case of an Afghan refugee child with thalassemia in Iran.