Dignity of Person in the Final Phase of Life - An Exploratory Study

Abstract

An attempt was made to identify those factors which affect the “dignity” of a person when in the advanced or terminal phase of illness. A series of interviews (140 in all) was conducted with 24 adults in a large chronic care institution. Emphasis was on the informant's world of meaning. Only 10% of the coded responses could be classified as indicative of a sense of affirmed dignity. The most frequent non-dignity supportive responses were indicative of pain, loss, loneliness, and intrusiveness. Results of this exploratory study underline the necessity to promote consciousness-raising of health personnel about the human needs of persons who are in the final phase of their lives.