Norwegian version

Dignity and Ethics

This research group belongs to the Faculty of Health Sciences. Empirical questions about how healthcare workers focus, understand and maintain the dignity in meeting with various patient and family groups is in focus. Research is conducted in both primary and specialist health services.

Today, we know a good deal about what dignity is, but the implications for clinical nursing needs to be explored further. Little is known about the reasons why patients are not maintaining their dignity. Therefore, further research is needed on what patients themselves do to maintain and promote their dignity while they experience illness and suffering. Patients and relatives' experience of their dignity is a central focus of our research.

Head of research group

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  • Members

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  • More about the research group

    One of the central concepts in ethical research is the concept of dignity. Other notions of ethical research include dependence, independence, autonomy, coercion priorities. Dignity is considered a primary objective in health sciences and health policy. Inherent dignity comes from conception to death and involves research on the ethical and existential challenges for individuals with both acute and chronic illness and suffering.

    Dignity is both a subjective and an objective phenomenon. Objective dignity is an inherent dignity we have by virtue of being human. The subjective dignity is the individual's perception of their dignity. In order to experience dignity, people must be treated with dignity. The research literature shows that certain patient groups experience a violation of their dignity.

  • Projects

    • A life in dignity. A clinical study on how to promote dignity in nursing home residents
    • Dignity in family caregivers of persons with multiple sclerosis
    • Dignity in persons with multiple sclerosis and head injuries
    • Experiences of persons recently completed suicidal attempts
    • Dignity in persons with dementia living in an institution, and their family caregivers
    • Dignity in dementia care
    • Ethics of care in a post-national world; undocumentedness, human rights and health professionals’ obligations
    • Dignity in persons with dementia living at home, and their partners
    • The importance of moral sensitivity to maintain one’s own and others’ dignity: a qualitative study on nursing students and their moral sensitivity
    • Entity and dignity in connection with being a mother and suffering from mental health problems
    • Vigilance and dignity
    • Bodily changes and dignity
    • Leadership, responsibility and dignity
    • The importance of ethics in the performance of nursing care in hospitals
    • Holistic nursing – an ethical challenge for the nursing discipline
    • Caring conversation with children
    • Alleviating suffering when patients experience illness
    • Dignity in African and Asian women with sick-leave
    • Dignity from an Eastern and Western perspective
    • The significance of counselling in postgraduate student programmes in mental health work