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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Dignity in older age
— what do older people in the United Kingdom think? | | Author(s) | Gillian Woolhead, Michael Calnan, Paul Dieppe |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 33, no 2, March 2004 |
| Pages | pp 165-169 |
| Source | http://www.ageing.oupjournals.org |
| Keywords | Attitude ; Social characteristics [elderly] ; Rights [elderly] ; Attitudes to the old of general public ; Qualitative Studies. |
| Annotation | Dignity is a complex concept, and there is little empirical evidence to show how older people view dignity. This study used qualitative methods to explore the concept of dignity from the older person's perspective. 15 focus groups and two individual interviews were conducted in 12 different settings with a total of 72 participants aged 65+ purposively sampled to ensure a mix of socio-economic status, ethnicity and level of fitness. The method of constant comparison was used to analyse data. Dignity was seen as a multi-faceted concept: dignity of identity (self-respect, esteem, integrity, trust); human rights (equality, choice); and autonomy (independence, control). Examples of dignity being jeopardised rather than being enhanced were given. A loss of self-esteem arose from being patronised, excluded from decision-making, and being treated as an "object". Lack of integrity in society means that there was an inability to trust others and an increased vulnerability. Equality was an important issue, but many felt that government policies did not support their rights. The evidence showed that person-centred care for older people needs to be specifically related to communication, privacy, personal identity and feelings of vulnerability. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040602219 A |
| Classmark | DP: F: IKR: TOB: 3DP |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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