What’s dignity got to do with it? Patient experience of the dignity care intervention: a qualitative evaluation study

Johnston, B. , Papadopoulou, C., Östlund, U., Hunter, K., Andrew, J. and Buchanan, D. (2017) What’s dignity got to do with it? Patient experience of the dignity care intervention: a qualitative evaluation study. SAGE Open Nursing, 3, pp. 1-12. (doi: 10.1177/2377960817699839)

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Abstract

The delivery of palliative care in the community setting has been recognized as a valued and challenging aspect of nursing care. To this end, care pathways have been shown to support nurses in a variety of settings to deliver individualized patient care. This study provides a qualitative evaluation of an end-of-life intervention known as the Dignity Care Intervention (DCI) based on patients’ perspectives. The DCI consists of four sections: a manual, the Patient Dignity Inventory, reflective questions, and evidence-based care actions. A qualitative design underpinned by the philosophy of Merlau-Ponty was employed for the evaluation of the DCI. Data collection included individual interviews with participants (n = 25). Interview data were analyzed using framework thematic analysis. Four theme categories were identified: “experience of DCI,” “responding to my illness concerns,” “how illness affects me as a person,” and “how illness concerns affect my relationships.” The DCI was found to enable patients to discuss openly important issues with community nurses that they might not otherwise have raised. Participants conveyed satisfaction with the support they received through the DCI. The use of care pathways detailing interventions to manage clinical problems and ensure systematic integration of the best available evidence into care delivery can improve end-of-life care.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:The authors acknowledge the support of Dr. Margaret McGuire, Director of Nursing who supported the study and NHS Tayside endowment fund for funding the study.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Johnston, Professor Bridget
Authors: Johnston, B., Papadopoulou, C., Östlund, U., Hunter, K., Andrew, J., and Buchanan, D.
College/School:College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
Journal Name:SAGE Open Nursing
Publisher:SAGE Publications
ISSN:2377-9608
ISSN (Online):2377-9608
Published Online:22 March 2017
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2017 The Authors
First Published:First published in SAGE Open Nursing 3: 1-12
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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