Dignity-conserving care in palliative care settings : An integrative review

• Aims and objectivesTo report an integrative review of evidence relating to dignity-conserving care in palliative care settings. It will also suggest avenues for future research. BackgroundResearch suggests that dignity is welcomed by those receiving palliative and end of life care. However, as dignity is a subjective term, it is not always explicit how this may be employed by nurses. Given that the preferred place of care for patients with palliative care needs is the home, the issue of dignity may be particularly important for community nurses. Therefore, synthesising evidence of dignity-conserving care for community nurses caring for people with palliative care needs provides clarity in a complex area of palliative care research. DesignIntegrative literature review. MethodThe review involved key bibliographic and review databases CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, ASSIA and PsycInfo. Medical Subject Headings and free terms were undertaken for articles published from January 2009-September 2014 and retrieved papers were assessed against inclusion criteria. Final included articles were reviewed for reported dignity-conserving care actions, which were classified under nine themes of the Dignity Model. ResultsThirty-one articles were included. Nine Dignity Model themes were used to classify care actions: Level of Independence; Symptom Distress; Dignity-Conserving Perspectives; Dignity-Conserving Practices; Privacy Boundaries; Social Support; Care Tenor; Burden to Others; and Aftermath Concerns. Reported care actions included listening, conveying empathy, communication and involving patients in care. ConclusionCare actions could be classified under most of Dignity Model themes. However, there were less reported care actions related to Level of Independence and Aftermath Concerns, which meant that these had to be formulated independently. Future research should be structured around these areas to determine appropriate care actions for nurses to give dignity-conserving care that addresses these specific themes. Relevance to clinical practiceSynthesising the available evidence of dignity-conserving care identifies evidence-based care actions and provides guidance to nursesin clinical practice caring for patients with palliative care needs. Future opportunities for research are identified to guide promotion of dignity in palliative care.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Keyword

care actions

community

dignity

dignity-conserving care

end of life

integrative review

palliative care

Omvårdnad

Nursing

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

for (subject category)