Concepts of privacy and dignity found in outcome 3.6 in nursing
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This assignment is from the subject health and ageing Essay topic is
The Australian aged care quality agency identifies 44 expected outcomes across four standards. The third standard outlines ten outcomes in regard to the care recipient’s life style.
Discuss the concepts of privacy and dignity found in outcome 3.6 using the scholarly literature to support your conclusions. Identify the ways in which the registered nurse can safeguard these rights and why it is essential that this occur?
Length is 2000 words
Require minimum 20 relevant references from variety of resources.
APA style
THE LINK TO THE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION IS federation university library only for referencing
SAMPLE ANSWER
Concepts of privacy and dignity
Introduction
The Australian agency for aged care acknowledges the need for privacy and dignity in order to improve the patient outcomes. The agency’s insists that patient dignity must be respected. However, findings indicate that patients (the elderly in particular) are increasingly vulnerable in care settings. The studies also illustrates that the lack of privacy in healthcare settings threaten patients dignity. Healthcare staffs who are curt or authoritative threaten patient’s dignity (Lyttle &Ryan, 2010).
Studies indicate that good healthcare environments, one which promotes patient’s privacy and dignity culture would make patients feel more comfortable and improve their health outcomes. This is because patients –healthcare provider relationships and care settings environs influence the patients’ healthcare (Hesse, 2012). For these reasons, this paper evaluates the importance of maintaining privacy and dignity for the aged, in improving their quality of life. The paper will explore the topic by examining the pieces of literature available of impact of privacy and dignity in improving patient’s outcomes; legislation and professional regulations particularly for the elderly; explore the role of nurses in ensuring that privacy and dignity are sustainably practiced.
Privacy and dignity concepts
Privacy and confidentiality include all the relevant duties in ensuring that patient’s information including health diagnosis, prognosis, family history and drug use are protected. The patient’s cultural contexts values, decisions and information must be treated with respect. The regulations require that the patient’s information must not be disclosed without the patient’s consent. Privacy also refers that the patients autonomy. The patient should be in a position to make decisions with minimal interference or coerced to make decision by the healthcare provider or the relatives. It is supposed to ensure that patients must have the right to exert full control of their healthcare decisions (Gaffney, Johnston, & Buchanan, 2014). It includes deciding on who should access their health information. The Australian agency concepts on privacy regulate the distribution of electronic data. These rights should never be over looked. However, most healthcare providers and relatives often disregard the importance of this for the elderly. Privacy and confidentiality really affects the patients; by keeping their information in privacy makes the elderly feel that they are appreciated. The healthcare provider should not assume that the elderly patients want their healthcare information shared with his/her relatives. The desire to keep healthcare information private does not decrease with age (Lin, Tsai & Chen, 2011).
Again, the Australian healthcare policy has much rhetoric on concepts of dignity. There have been increased reports on ageism, indignity and care deficits in healthcare services. Nevertheless, the importance of dignity when dealing with the aged people cannot be overlooked. Dignity in care provision is not a new aspect. It can be traced back to the great philosophers such as the Aristotle. The first statement which integrated dignity in healthcare was in 1948 during the Declaration of Human rights in the U.S. Since then, there has been increased attention to dignity in care settings particularly in the health care settings. Diverging approaches to the concept of dignity results to varying understanding of the concept. Philosophically, dignity refers to the feeling of worth or valued. Aristotle’s definition of dignity refers to the virtue which results to human eudemonia (happiness). In this case, if the person have little self-worth they may not be happy. Kant defined dignity as an intrinsic value which is priceless. In both Kant and Aristotle definition, dignity is a human virtue which is associated with rationality or autonomy (Hughes, 2011).
Dignity can be subcategorized into three sections. The first dignity is the dignity of merit. This includes respect and value held for people who have higher status in the society. A status is a position that is highly valued by others such as a governor, bishop etc. The next dignity is that of moral status. It entails moral autonomy and integrity. This implies that if a person lives according to their moral principles, then they develop a sense of self-respect and self-worth (Taylor &Brian, 2014). The last dignity is that of identity. This paper focuses on this dignity which reflects self-respect and identity to people. This is violated via physical interference which negatively impacts emotional and psychological values. In this framework, dignity is an inherent characteristic which should be present in everyone. Nurses are expected to serve the elderly with uniqueness and autonomy. It is associated with concepts of honor and respect. Care for the elderly presents unique challenge in the promotion and sustenance of dignity in the daily care provision to the patient (Baillie, 2009).
The older people are vulnerable. Some may have health issues which put them to higher risks of death. The dignity challenges experienced by the elderly in care settings includes under treatment of people suffering from chronic illness. In other cases, the patients are over treated that can be difficult to identify, thereby highlighting the need to integrate a family centered care approach. By totally dependent on the nurses, the elderly patients can experience shame and indignity. They often feel like they have totally lost control of their lives which could result to deterioration. This causes the elderly feels like they have lost hope. There is increased threat to their personal integrity (Fischer & Schenkman, 2011).
Role of the nurse in maintain dignity
The healthcare staff attitudes and behavior are key elements towards maintaining positive relations to the elderly patients and to empower their feelings of self-worth. The key elements of providing the care includes attentive care which results to respectful patient- nurse relations. Integrating elderly when making health care decisions is important because it makes them have sense of control over their lives (Neir, 2013). The nurse providing care should listen attentively to the older people desires, value and respect them. This includes preserving their privacy during personal care and other health care services. Individualized care and acknowledgement of the good memories would increase patient’s dignity considerably (Brennan, 2014). Providing quality care when sustaining dignity in elderly people could be challenging. Old age is frequently associated with memory loss. This threatens sense of personal integrity making the patient more confused. This loss of cognitive function makes the patients more irritable which manifests themselves as reduced cooperation and stubbornness. This is because they feel as a burden and embarrassment to the family. However, coherent communication with the patients can take the negative emotions way.
In terms of sustaining dignity in the elderly, the nurses have a big role to play. The first step in sustaining dignity is by understanding the patient as a unique entity. The nurse should understand the patient’s cultural contexts which could impede delivery of quality care (Venturato, 2010). Valuing the patient’s attributes and beliefs will make the patient feel appreciated; thereby enhance their dignity. This improves the connection between elderly patients and the staff. Helping the patient retain the reduced sense of autonomy enhances the patient’s sense of dignity. The patients should be supported and encouraged to participate in group activities, this enhances the patient’s sense of autonomy (Oeffner Et al, 2011). The staff attitudes and behavior concerns the elderly person perception about dignity. If the nurse shows reduced or lack of respect, intolerance or increasingly impatient can reduce the elderly persons sense of identity. Staff attitudes influence the patient’s outcome considerably. One survey indicated that use of endearments are patronizing and demeaning to the patient. Use of proper names and language indicates empathy and respect, indicating that the nurse knows the individual she is dealing with (Morris, 2012).
Despite the decreased cognitive function, the nurse’s goals should be heightening the patient’s sense of purpose. This could be achieved by setting goals and achievements within their social group. Such approaches makes the elderly patients retain their sense of independence. Consequently, the maintaining of the functional status ensures that self-esteem is improved. In cases where the patients have completely lost sense of dependence, providing treatment in pleasant environs and constant presence of friendly healthcare providers can enhance the patient’s dignity. The friendly environment bestows the feeling of safety, belonging and continuity (Pirhonen, 2014). Environmental set up of the healthcare facility influences patient’s perception of dignity and self-worth. This mainly pertains to the physical environment. For example, how accessible is the lavatory, does the facilities have mixed sex wards or are the wards separated and hygiene well kept. Unsatisfactory environment is associated with reduced recognition of the patient value. For instance, if physical evaluations are conducted in public, a shabby ward facility, unhygienic lavatory among others reduces identity dignity. This is because it violates personal space and humiliates the elderly persons. In such type of environments, the hospitalized patient falls reports are considerably high which increases chances of emergency visits (Tadd, Vanlaere, & Gastmans, 2010).
Importance of privacy and dignity in healthcare
In one study entitled dignity and older people indicated that people of all ages have needs for dignity. Dignity is importance across all health care settings including the acute care and long term health care settings. Most studies indicate that where there is loss of privacy and dignity, the older patients are negatively affected. The impacts results to increased psychosocial disorders such as anxiety and distress (Vorster, 2012). Dignity is one of the virtues used by patients in rating the health care facilities. A survey conducted in U.S. on 27, 414 patients after discharge indicated that their confidence and trust in health care professionals was influenced by respect and dignity accorded during care. Approximately, 85% patients from the study reported that being treated with dignity was associated with patient satisfaction. Another study assessed nurse’s experiences in promoting patient’s dignity. The study found that nurses provided quality care by defending patient’s quality had increased career satisfaction. Dignity is connected to self-esteem. How a person is treated results to a more profound effect (Papastavrou, 2012).
Evidently, dignity promotion in elderly care is fundamental. Four attributes have been identified as the driving force towards dignity including; individualized care, respect, sensitive listening and advocacy. Nurses should identify each patient’s unique needs and demands (Welford Et al, 2012). This implies making the patient to actively be involved in decision making processes. Individuality is also enhanced through listening of the patient’s life experiences and views about their healthcare. One intervention that has been found to be effective intervention is reminiscence. This encourages the elderly patient to discuss about their real life experiences. This attribute is also very important when relating to the wide range of specific activities (Gallagher Et al., 2008). These activities include when doing regular activities such as bathing, dressing toileting among others. Where patients are left to soil their beds, not assisted during feeding or are put in areas where there is limited privacy reduces elderly perception on dignity. Nurses should learn to attend even to small details of care or patients preferences. Showing respect to the elderly preserves patient’s dignity. This includes respecting the communicated traditional values and believes. This can be enhanced by providing small space where the patient can bring cultural symbols. This makes the elderly person feel appreciated and at home. It is the nurse’s role to ensure that the patient’s rights are protected. This is especially if the patient mental capacity is reduced (Sauchaud Et al, 2013).
Conclusion
The challenges attributed to providing privacy and dignified care to the elderly patients has been discussed. The empirical data supporting the findings have been indicated. The increased debates and raised concerns by the patients about health care service delivery have raised attention in health care organizations. This paper has highlighted the role of nurses in ensuring that privacy and dignity is sustained during care provision of the elderly. To integrate dignity and privacy in the daily nursing practice, the healthcare provider must focus on the aforementioned attributes including; healthcare environment, staff behavior and attitude, cultural competence and special care activities. However, where an elderly person chooses to disregard the convectional standard such as hygiene, and efforts to persuade them to bath are futile; then the nurse is permitted to act according to the patent’s best interests. This calls for reaching equilibrium between autonomy and potential health risks due to self-neglect.
References
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