Exploring the perceptions of dignity among patients and nurses in hospital and community settings: an integrative review

BACKGROUND: Patients have a right to be treated with dignity. However, reports have continually identified concerns regarding the quality of care and dignity in hospitals. Undignified care can have unfavourable impact on the patient’s recovery such as leading to depression and loss of will to live. The aim of this study was to explore dignity as perceived by patients and nurses within hospital and community environments. METHODS: An integrative review methodological approach was adopted. Nine databases including Medline, CINAHL plus with full text, Web of Science, Embase, Pubmed, Psycinfo, Scopus, Nursing and Allied Health Source, and Science Direct were systematically searched for relevant articles using a predetermined set of inclusion criteria. Articles were included if they were primary empirical studies, peer reviewed, published between 2008–2019, assessing patients’ or nurses’ perception of dignity outside the end-of-life context, conducted in one of the European countries and written in English. Included papers were analysed using constant comparative analysis. The preferred reporting system for systematic review and meta-analysis (Prisma) flow diagram was used for quality appraisal and review. RESULTS: Fourteen relevant articles were included in this review. Four overarching themes and 10 subthemes were identified as impacting on patient dignity. Overarching themes include autonomy, healthcare delivery factors, organisational factors and the meaning of dignity, whilst subthemes include dependence/independence, choice, staff attitudes, communication, privacy, structure of services, staff shortages, physical environment, respect and person-centred care. CONCLUSION: There are a wide range of factors impacting on patient dignity. Adopting evidence-based interventions supported by adequate theoretical backing can help to enhance patient dignity in hospital and community settings.