NUR272 Dignity in Life and Care Assignment Sample

• Subject Code : NUR272
• University : University of Sunshine Coast My Assignment Services is not sponsored or endorsed by this college or university.
• Subject Name : Nursing

Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

Introduction to Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

Dignified care is essential for practice in healthcare. Patients in palliative care settings require essential care and support as they are fighting with a terminal illness (Martínez et al. 2017). Dignity in care and practice, therefore, ensures that the patient needs are respected and delivered. Dignified care is effective as it creates a greater sense of well-being and trust within the patients (Hoy et al. 2016). 

This literature review aims to identify relevant literature that focuses on the importance of dignity in palliative care. This review will also identify the common themes from the literature cited and focus on the common perspectives and notions associated with dignity in the palliative care setting. 

Literature Review of Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

Perspectives towards dignity in palliative care 

A qualitative analysis was conducted by Hoy et al. (2016), with 28 nursing home residents under palliative care asserted that dignified nursing practices helped the patients interact more freely, communicate their needs, and help in boosting of their confidence. Dignity helps patients boost self-esteem and inculcates optimism. A similar study was also conducted by McIlfatrick et al. (2017) where 24 community nurses were interviewed to assess the changes observed by the nurses after application of dignity intervention on palliative patients in community nursing. The study revealed that the application of dignity intervention helped the patients feel more comforted and open while availing care and shared positive experiences of the care service provided. The study asserted that dignified practices can be followed by ensuring patient participation, shared decision making, and enhanced communication with rapport building. 

Dignity Therapy 

Xiao et al. (2019) studied the importance and relevance of the application of dignity therapy in palliative care patients through meta-analysis. The study used eight individual researches to formulate their analysis and asserted that the application of dignity therapy, that is focussed on boosting the respect and dignity of the palliative care patients. These results also show consistent with the study by Bylund-Grenklo et al. (2019) that identified the importance of dignity in palliative care settings and asserted that by ensuring dignity via dignity therapy for end-of-life patients, person-centred care can be achieved and enhance the overall outcomes of palliative care setting.

Importance of patient dignity 

Kennedy (2016) developed a comprehensive analysis to highlight the importance of dignity in end-of-life care. The study highlighted that loss of dignity and self-respect are common in the palliative care settings as the patients struggle to combat terminal illness, treating patients with dignity helps in ensuring psychological support and helps the patient maintain optimism in their lives. These results were also validated by the study of Bovero et al. (2019) that illustrated that application of dignified practices in caring ensures that the patients must be able to achieve maximum care and feel respected. The study also asserted that dignified practices in palliative nursing assist in rapport building and improve the overall patient experience.

Table: Themes identified from literature

Discussion on Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

The research papers discussed in this study highlight common themes to assert the importance of dignity in palliative care. The study by several authors, Hoy et al. (2016), McIlfatrick et al. (2017), and Bylund-Grenklo et al. (2019) highlight the importance of dignity in rapport building and also on person-centred care. These studies highlight that practice of dignity in palliative care settings helps in building rapport with the terminally ill patients and boost their self-confidence and instil optimism and thereby promote wellbeing in the patients. The studies also signify the importance of rapport building as it promotes trust and helps in the development of the strong interpersonal relationship between the patient and the carer. 

Further, studies by Bylund-Grenklo et al. (2019), Bovero et al. (2019), and Kennedy (2016) also indicated the significance of dignity in palliative care as it enhances the quality of care provided to the patients and therefore, promotes the overall quality of service provided. This promotes a better experience in the care of the patients and enhances patient satisfaction. It is also argued in these studies that dignity enhances person-centred care and helps in rapport building. 

The studies by McIlfatrick et al. (2017), Xiao et al. (2019), and Bylund-Grenklo et al. (2019) also focused on the provision of dignity therapy in the palliative care settings and asserted that through the application of dignity therapy the self-respect of patients in palliative care is boosted. Further, it also offers the patient psychological support and assistance to patients suffering from a terminal illness and in palliative care. Therefore, it can be concluded that these studies assert the significance of the practice of dignity in palliative care. 

Conclusion on Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

This review summarises the literature focused on highlighting the significance of dignity in palliative care settings. Patients at the end-of-life care require more support and psychological assistance as they battle the terminal illness. The studies in this review highlight the importance of practising dignity in these setting and evidence how the use of dignity therapy, shared decision-making, development of communication skills, and rapport building with patients in palliative care. These can assist in boosting their confidence and promote the quality of care through psychological support. This review also summarises the common themes explored in the literature and summarises the correlation through a comprehensive discussion for a complete analysis. 

References for Palliative, Rehabilitation and Continuing Care

Bovero, A., Tosi, C., Botto, R., Cito, A., Malerba, V., Molfetta, V., Ieraci, V. and Torta, R. 2019. The health care providers’ perspectives on end-of-life patients’ sense of dignity. A comparison among four different professionals’ categories. Journal of Cancer Education, pp.1-9.

Bylund-Grenklo, T., Werkander-Harstäde, C., Sandgren, A., Benzein, E. and Östlund, U. 2019. Dignity in life and care: The perspectives of Swedish patients in a palliative care context. International Journal of Palliative Nursing, 25(4), pp.193-201.

Høy, B., Lillestø, B., Slettebø, Å., Sæteren, B., Heggestad, A.K.T., Caspari, S., Aasgaard, T., Lohne, V. Rehnsfeldt, A., Råholm, M.B. and Lindwall, L., 2016. Maintaining dignity in vulnerability: A qualitative study of the residents’ perspective on dignity in nursing homes. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 60, pp.91-98.

Kennedy, G. 2016. The importance of patient dignity in care at the end of life. The Ulster medical journal, 85(1), p.45.

Martínez, M., Arantzamendi, M., Belar, A., Carrasco, J.M., Carvajal, A., Rullán, M. and Centeno, C. 2017. ‘Dignity therapy’, a promising intervention in palliative care: A comprehensive systematic literature review. Palliative Medicine, 31(6), pp.492-509.

McIlfatrick, S., Connolly, M., Collins, R., Murphy, T., Johnston, B. and Larkin, P. 2017. Evaluating a dignity care intervention for palliative care in the community setting: Community nurses’ perspectives. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(23-24), pp.4300-4312.

Xiao, J., Chow, K.M., Liu, Y. and Chan, C.W. 2019. Effects of dignity therapy on dignity, psychological well‐being, and quality of life among palliative care cancer patients: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Psycho‐oncology, 28(9), pp.1791-1802.

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