ABSTRACT
Health and social care professionals are in a unique and privileged position to safeguard and preserve the dignity of older people. Therefore, this chapter will first explore why dignity is important for older people and why older people might be vulnerable to a loss of dignity, drawing on research findings and reports about older people's dignity. The chapter explains the important for older people's dignity, by providing illustrated examples of where dignified care for older people may not have been achieved in various settings. However, this form of discrimination is positive because it focuses attention on how older people may perceive dignity and respect and how intergenerational differences may be overcome so that their dignity and respect can be preserved, enabling older people to feel valued and integrated within society. The dignity challenge alerts us to what is important for older people in preserving dignity.
