ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews research conducted about dignity in healthcare and consider further research needed to continue to develop the body of knowledge about dignity in care. Managerial issues might relate to resources, systems and processes and care environment concerns, as well as managing individual staff behaviour. The promotion of dignity in healthcare needs commitment from politicians and healthcare management authorities as well as individual healthcare organisations, such as hospitals, community services or care homes. Healthcare workers should assume that promoting the dignity of patients or clients is ‘easy’ all of the time. Healthcare organisations should have systems that treat patients as valued individuals. However, in the UK, bed shortages in some hospitals have led to the constant moving of patients between wards, and to patients being in mixed-sex accommodation. Education should include service user involvement, as listening to and exploring patients’ real experiences of dignity in care is meaningful and has a high impact.
