Dignity in care has become a key policy, practice and political priority. This development has become more pressing as media, anecdotal and research reports have highlighted dignity deficits in care. In response to such reports and to concerns of the membership and general public, the Royal College of Nursing initiated a high-profile campaign (Dignity: at the heart of everything we do) involving engagement with stakeholders, a survey of members and the development and dissemination of educational and practice development materials. This article details findings from part of the evaluation of the Royal College of Nursing dignity campaign, which used a qualitative case study design across seven UK sites. The study used interviews with 51 staff members, direct observation of the physical care environment and document analysis, and data were analysed using thematic analysis. The article focuses on two areas: enablers (staff receptivity and creativity; organisational support and leadership; and campaign educational materials) and challenges (time constraints; and staff attitudes and insight).
Calnan M., Woolhead G., and Dieppe P. ( 2005) Views on dignity in providing health care for older people . Nurs Times101(33): 38-41.
5.
Clarke A. ( 2001) Evaluation research in nursing and health care . Nurse Res8(3): 4-14.
6.
De Vaus D. ( 2001) Research Design in Social Research. London: Sage Publications.
7.
Department of Health. (2001a) Essence of Care: Patient-focused Benchmarking for Health Care Practitioners . London: Department of Health .
8.
Department of Health. (2001b) The National Service Framework for Older People. London : Department of Health.
9.
Department of Health (2006) Dignity in Care Public Survey. Available from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/dignityincare .
10.
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety ( 2006) The Quality Standards for Health and Social Care: supporting good governance and best practice in the HPSS. Available from: http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/spsd-standards-quality-standards .
11.
Enes SPD ( 2003) An exploration of dignity in palliative care. Palliat Med17(3): 263-269.
12.
Gallagher A., Li S., Wainwright P., Rees Jones I., Lee D. ( 2008) Dignity in the care of older people - a review of the theoretical and empirical literature. BMC Nursing7(11). Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6955/7/11.
13.
Gangeness JE, Yurkovich E. ( 2006) Revisiting case study as a nursing research design . Nurse Researcher13(4): 7-18.
14.
Gee M.(2009) The Dignity in Care campaign continues to inspire. Nurs Resident Care11(2): 92-94.
15.
Gray DE ( 2004) Doing Research in the Real World. London: Sage Publications.
16.
Haddock J. ( 1996) Towards further clarification of the concept ‘dignity’ . J Adv Nurs24(5): 924-931.1.
17.
Health Advisory Service2000. ( 1998) ‘Not Because They are Old’: An Independent Inquiry into the Care of Older People on Acute Wards in General Hospitals . London: Health Advisory Service2000.
18.
Healthcare Commission. (2007) Caring for Dignity: a National Report on Dignity in Care for Older People While in Hospital. London: Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection .
19.
Help the Aged. (2007) The Challenge of Dignity in Care: Upholding the Rights of the Individual. London : Help the Aged.
20.
Jacelon CS ( 2003) The dignity of elders in an acute care hospital . Qual Health Res13(4): 543-556.
21.
Jooste K. ( 2004) Leadership: a new perspective. J Nurs Manag12: 217-223.
22.
McPhail G. ( 1997) Management of change: an essential skill for nursing in the 1990s. J Nurs Manage5: 199-205.
23.
Mairis ED ( 1994) Concept clarification in professional practice - dignity . Journal of Advanced Nursing19(5): 947-953.
24.
Marley J. ( 2005) A concept analysis of dignity. In: Cutliffe JR, McKenna HP (eds) The Essential Concepts of Nursing. Edinburgh: Elsevier, Churchill Livingstone, 77-91.
25.
Matiti MR ( 2002) Patient dignity in nursing: a phenomenological study. Unpublished thesis. University of Huddersfield School of Education and Professional Development.
26.
Mencap (2007) Death by Indifference. London: Mencap.
27.
Nordenfelt L. ( 2003) Dignity of the elderly: an introduction. Med Health Care Philos6(2): 99-101.
28.
Pullman D. ( 2004) Death, dignity and moral nonsense. J Palliat Care20(3): 71-178.
29.
President’s Council on Bioethics in the United States. (2008) Human Dignity and Bioethics: Essays Commissioned by the President’s Council on Bioethics. Washington DC: President’s Council on Bioethics .
30.
Richards N., Coulter A. ( 2007) Is the NHS Becoming More Patient Focused? Trends from the National Surveys of NHS Patients in England 2002-2007. Oxford: Picker Institute.
31.
Royal College of Nursing (2008a) Dignity: at the heart of everything we do. http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/campaigns/dignity.
32.
Royal College of Nursing (2008b) Defending Dignity: Opportunities and Challenges for Nursing. London: Royal College of Nursing.
33.
Scottish Government (2006) Delivering Care, Enabling Health: Harnessing the Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions’ Contribution to Implementing Delivering for Health in Scotland . Edinburgh: Scottish Government . Available from: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/10/23103937/4.
34.
Seedhouse D., Gallagher A. ( 2002) Undignifying situations. J Med Ethics28(6): 368-372.
35.
Shotton L., Seedhouse D. ( 1998) Practical dignity in caring. Nurs Ethics5(3): 246-255.
36.
Stake RE ( 1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
37.
Walsh K., Kowanko I. ( 2002) Nurses’ and patients’ perceptions of dignity . Int J Nurs Pract8(3): 143-151.
38.
Welsh Assembly Government. (2003) Fundamentals of Care: Guidance for Health and Social Care Staff. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly.
39.
Welsh Assembly Government (2007) Dignity and Respect in Care. Available from: http://wales.gov.uk/publications/accessinfo/decisionreport/healthdrs/healthdrs2007/1931918/?lang=en.
40.
Wright S. ( 1998) The change obstacle course: additional perspectives on the change process. In: Wright S (ed.) Changing Nursing Practice, 2nd edn. London: Hodder Arnold.
41.
Yin RK ( 2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
