Experiences of dignity: Age at onset of serious illness matters

Background Preserving persons’ dignity is integral to nursing. More research is needed to explore how a diversity of patients, particularly those that experience illness from a young age, experience dignity. Aim Describe the characteristics of dignity for persons living with serious illness. Research design Using a secondary data set of twenty audio-recorded interviews, a thematic content analysis was conducted to identify characteristics of dignity. The research team employed van Gennip et al.’s, 2013 “Model of Dignity in Illness” (1) to create a codebook, which the authors utilized to independently code twenty narrative interview transcripts. Participants and research context Twenty persons living with serious illness of heart failure and/or dialysis-dependent renal failure who were admitted in an acute care hospital. Ethical considerations This study was approved on August 26, 2019, by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board (COMIRB) IRB Protocol #19-1874. Findings Early-onset participants expressed markedly different dignity concerns than late-onset participants. In the individual domain, early-onset participants felt that their illness was “normal”; they did not experience the “healthy person to patient” transition described by older onset participants. In the relational domain, early-onset participants expressed that their relationships had already integrated their illness while late-onset participants felt that their illness harmed many of their relationships. In the societal domain, early-onset participants described dignity concerns related to how society impacted their ability to financially support themselves during their illness. Discussion Differences in the dignity experience of early-onset and late-onset participants are informed by Erikson’s “Model of Development” and by Aranda and Jones feminist critique of dignity in healthcare. Conclusions Persons with early-onset illness experience dignity differently. Awareness of the importance of work and financial independence to the experience of dignity for seriously ill patients may enhance persons’ dignity experience.