Funded projects

What we know: Maintaining dignity is important to older people especially during periods of acute illness requiring admission to hospital. Anecdotal and some research evidence 1 indicates that older people are often not treated with ...

What we know: Maintaining dignity is important to older people especially during periods of acute illness requiring admission to hospital. Anecdotal and some research evidence 1 indicates that older people are often not treated with dignity while receiving hospital care. We also know what professionals say affects their ability to provide dignified care. What we don't know: We have little direct evidence about the factors within the care environment that impact on the provision of dignified care or about the impact of professional behaviour on the maintenance of patient dignity.What we will do: We will conduct interviews with: a) Older people recently discharged from hospital b) Their relatives/ carers to learn about their real-life experiences; c) Health service managers in 4 large NHS Trusts to find out how they ensure people receive dignified care. We will observe care in a number of hospital wards in these Trusts, interview the staff and talk to some of the patients. We have spoken to older people and family carers while planning this project to ensure their ideas and concerns were included.How older people, carers, and service users will benefit: From our findings we will produce guidance for use by policy makers, providers and all occupational groups across the NHS to ensure older people are treated with dignity at all times.

Background: The importance of providing dignified care for older people is increasingly cited in a range of UK health and social policy documents and recent high profile audits have emphasized the importance of meeting dignity ...

Background: The importance of providing dignified care for older people is increasingly cited in a range of UK health and social policy documents and recent high profile audits have emphasized the importance of meeting dignity standards in acute as well as long term care settings. Lack of dignity in care provision results in many complaints and substantial media interest. A recent national report on Caring for Dignity showed marked variations in the level and provision of dignified care for older people in acute hospital trusts, however, there is little explicit guidance about how to translate dignity into practice.Aim: This multi-method study, building on experience from previous research, will attempt to fill this gap by developing evidence-based guidance for policies and practice to promote dignified care.Methods: This evidence will be derived from an ethnography of four hospital acute trusts in England and Wales which will involve semi-structured interviews with older people recently discharged from hospital and their relatives/informal carers about their experiences and priorities in relation to the provision of dignified care. This will be complemented by evidence from detailed observation of care practices and activities in 16 wards across 4 acute NHS Trusts, together with follow up interviews with practitioners and other key informants to identify patterns of practitioner behaviour and the occupational, organisational and cultural factors which foster or detract from dignified care. In each study site, 4 wards will be chosen: one offering care exclusively for older people; two offering care for adults including older people and one offering care over a longer period of time, such as a rehabilitation ward or an intermediate care facility.The data will be analysed using Framework Analysis, as this is particularly appropriate in applied qualitative studies where the objectives of the research are established in advance by funding bodies, rather than emerging from a purely reflexive process. Expected outputs: These include recommendations policy makers, commissioners, providers and practitioners to promote best practice and practice development; better care provision; evidence of the factors influencing dignified care identification of aspects of the care environment impacting on the provision of dignified care and increased user satisfaction.

1: Calnan, M; Tadd, W; Calnan, S; Hillman, A; Read, S; Bayer, A. I often worry about the older person being in that system: exploring the key influences on the provision of dignified care ...

1: Calnan, M; Tadd, W; Calnan, S; Hillman, A; Read, S; Bayer, A. I often worry about the older person being in that system: exploring the key influences on the provision of dignified care for older people in acute hospitals. Ageing and Society 2012;DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X12000025
2: Tadd W, Read S,. Dignity on the wards: improving hospital care for the elderly. British Journal of Hospital Medicine 2012;73(5):244-5
3: Calnan, M; Tadd, W; Calnan, S; Hillman, A; Read, S; Bayer, A. 'I often worry about the older person being in that system': exploring the key influences on the provision of dignified care for older people in acute hospitals. Ageing and Society 2012;DOI: 10.1017/S0144686X12000025
4: Tadd, W; Hillman, A; Calnan, S; Calnan, M; Bayer, A; Read, S. Right place - wrong person: dignity in the acute care of older people. Quality in Ageing and Older Adults 2011;12(1): 33-43
5: Hillman A, Tadd W, Calnan S, Calnan M, Bayer A, Read S. Risk, governance and the experience of care. Sociology of Health and Illness 2013;doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12017
6: Tadd W, Hillman A, Calnan M, Calnan S, Read S, Bayer A. From right place wrong person, to right place right person: Dignified care for older people. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy 2012;17(suppl2):30-36

This project was commissioned and funded by the NIHR SDO programme. The management of the project and subsequent editorial review of the final report was undertaken by the Policy Research Programme Central Commissioning Facility (PRP ...

This project was commissioned and funded by the NIHR SDO programme. The management of the project and subsequent editorial review of the final report was undertaken by the Policy Research Programme Central Commissioning Facility (PRP CCF) as part of The Prevention of Abuse and Neglect in the Institutional Care of Older Adults (PANICOA) initiative - please visit www.panicoa.org.uk for more details. As the SDO programme had no involvement in the management or editorial review of the project we may not be able to comment on aspects of this document.