Anne Clancy, Nina Simonsen, Johanne Lind, Anne Liveng, Aud Johannessen
Sammendrag på engelsek (abstract):
Dignified care is a central issue in the nursing care of older adults. Nurses are expected to treat older adults
with dignity, and older adults wish to be treated in a dignified manner. Researchers have recommended
investigating the concept of dignity based on specific contexts and population groups. This meta-synthesis
study aims to explore the understandings of dignity from the perspective of older adults in the Nordic
countries. Synthesising findings from qualitative studies on older adults’ experiences of dignity has provided
important insight into what can be essential for dignified care in a Nordic context. The importance of
visibility and recognition for the experience of dignity is an overarching theme in all the studies. The
participants’ descriptions mostly implicated an existence dominated by a lack of recognition. The older
adults do not feel valued as people or for their contribution to society and strive to tone down their
illnesses in an attempt to become more visible and acknowledged as people. Toning down their illnesses and
masking their needs can protect their independence. At the same time, becoming less visible can leave them
without a voice. The metaphorical phrase protected and exposed by a cloak of invisibility is used to express the
authors’ overall interpretation of the findings. Lack of recognition and being socially invisible is a genuine
threat to older adults’ dignity.
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Nursing Ethics, 2020
