People generally possess a strong desire to construct positive, dignified work identities. However, this goal may be more challenging for some people, such as blue-collar workers, whose occupations may not offer qualities typically associated with workplace dignity. Interviews with 37 people from a blue-collar mining community reveal three central identity discourses about workplace dignity: Al...

BACKGROUND Loss of dignity for people with advanced cancer is associated with high levels of psychological and spiritual distress and the loss of the will to live. Dignity Therapy is a brief psychotherapy, which has been developed to help promote dignity and reduce distress. It comprises a recorded interview, which is transcribed, edited then returned to the patient, who can bequeath it to peop...

The paper "Palliative care and patient autonomy: moving beyond prohibitions against hastening death" by LiPuma and DeMarco deals with an aspect of end of life care which is the source of considerable disagreement. It is important to emphasize that autonomy is not the unique feature for end of life care. There is always a medical and ethical commitment to care, i.e. beneficence and nonmaleficenc...

M.L. taught me that his religious practice could provide clarity of mind, as well as acceptance of illness. His use of alternative medicine, with its holistic approach, reinforced the ways in which directing one’s own care supports relationships, helps patients connect with higher goals, and helps maintain independence and dignity, especially when associated with a spiritual community or practi...

Debates about the ban on smoking in public places have centred on the right to selfdetermination and privacy versus the right to health. This paper addresses the issue of smoking in relation to mental health and focuses on the right to dignity and respect. The public health agenda on smoking has involved the mobilisation of stigma to persuade people to give up. The paper argues that this strate...

This brief review analyses the progress of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) over the last decade. NIV has gained the dignity of first line intervention for acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, assuring reduction of the intubation rate, rate of infection and mortality. Despite positive results, NIV still remains controversial as a treatment for acute hypoxemic respiratory fa...

For some decades, the concept of human dignity has been widely discussed in bioethical literature. Some authors think that this concept is central to questions of respect for human beings, whereas others are very critical of it. It should be noted that, in these debates, dignity is one component of a long-lasting and widespread conceptual construct used to support a stance on the ethical questi...

The issue of voluntary active euthanasia was thrust into the public policy arena by the Stransham-Ford lawsuit. The High Court legalised voluntary active euthanasia - however, ostensibly only in the specific case of Mr Stransham-Ford. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned the High Court judgment on technical grounds, not on the merits. This means that in future the courts can be approached aga...

Everyone has a different understanding of what it means to have dignity, however, it is commonly associated with being in control and valued. The dignity of older people is therefore vulnerable as they are likely to be in positions of reduced control over their wellbeing. The six senses framework describes the characteristics of a health and social care environment which can promote dignity. Th...

OBJECTIVE This article examines how dementia affects personal dignity in individuals with mild to moderate dementia from their perspective. METHOD In this qualitative cross-sectional study, in-depth interviews were carried out with 14 individuals, aged 50-94, with mild to moderate dementia who lived at home. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed making use of the principles of thematic analysis....