Abstract
Background/aims: In hospice care patients are at risk of losing dignity
due to illness progression. Hospice services and guidelines state the
importance, a definition of dignity conserving care is lacking.
Aim: To explore the patient perspective on dignity in the last year of life.
Methods: Semi structured interviews were performed (Oct 2020 -Jul
2022). Maximum variation sought in age, gender, estimated life expectancy, physical status. By the initial question “What is dignity for you?” a
mutual understanding of dignity between interviewer and patient was
build. The meaning of dignity/dignity conserving care provided by professionals was explored by using a negative example to identify positive
actions and attitudes.
A 6-step inductive thematic analysis was performed. Data saturation was
reached after 10 interviews.
Results: 11 participants, mean age 69, seven women. Interviews lasted
30 – 75 minutes. Although dignity is personal, the expression of dignity
is similar for patients. The sense of dignity is related to both the individual and sense of self-worth and social interaction.
Five themes were revealed:
1 Respect, being able to be yourself and others let you.
2 Autonomy and actorship, deciding and acting for yourself
3 Empathy, active attention for you as a person.
4 Participation, belonging and being of value.
5 Feeling safe, being in good hands and able to relax.
When patients lost dignity due to physical decline, the ability to accept the
situation restored their sense of dignity. Patients developed a personal repertoire to support their sense of self-worth. Patients with low sense of selfworth depend on others for conserving their more vulnerable dignity.
Conclusions: Respect, autonomy, empathy, participation and feeling safe
were the revealed themes. Dignity of patients with a sense of self-worth
is relatively stable; patients with low self-worth are at risk in losing dignity and suffer from it and need to be supported by caregivers to conserve their dignity.
due to illness progression. Hospice services and guidelines state the
importance, a definition of dignity conserving care is lacking.
Aim: To explore the patient perspective on dignity in the last year of life.
Methods: Semi structured interviews were performed (Oct 2020 -Jul
2022). Maximum variation sought in age, gender, estimated life expectancy, physical status. By the initial question “What is dignity for you?” a
mutual understanding of dignity between interviewer and patient was
build. The meaning of dignity/dignity conserving care provided by professionals was explored by using a negative example to identify positive
actions and attitudes.
A 6-step inductive thematic analysis was performed. Data saturation was
reached after 10 interviews.
Results: 11 participants, mean age 69, seven women. Interviews lasted
30 – 75 minutes. Although dignity is personal, the expression of dignity
is similar for patients. The sense of dignity is related to both the individual and sense of self-worth and social interaction.
Five themes were revealed:
1 Respect, being able to be yourself and others let you.
2 Autonomy and actorship, deciding and acting for yourself
3 Empathy, active attention for you as a person.
4 Participation, belonging and being of value.
5 Feeling safe, being in good hands and able to relax.
When patients lost dignity due to physical decline, the ability to accept the
situation restored their sense of dignity. Patients developed a personal repertoire to support their sense of self-worth. Patients with low sense of selfworth depend on others for conserving their more vulnerable dignity.
Conclusions: Respect, autonomy, empathy, participation and feeling safe
were the revealed themes. Dignity of patients with a sense of self-worth
is relatively stable; patients with low self-worth are at risk in losing dignity and suffer from it and need to be supported by caregivers to conserve their dignity.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 172 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Palliative Medicine |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | S1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 7 Jun 2023 |
| Event | European Association of Palliative Care World Congress: Equity and diversity - De Doelen, Rotterdam, Netherlands Duration: 15 Jun 2023 → 17 Jun 2023 https://eapccongress.eu/2023/ |