Kindness, Humanity, and Respect

These core values of health care must be safeguarded in our time-pressured world. Dignity in Care provides practical ideas and tools to support a culture of compassion and respect throughout the health care system.
Read more.

New Book Release – Dignity in Care

Promotion code: AMPROMD9

The Human Side of Medicine by Harvey Max Chochinov

“Dignity in Care illuminates the tenets of authentic human caring […] It is such an important contribution to the field of medicine.”

Ira Byock, MD, Active Emeritus Professor, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine; Author of Dying Well and The Best Care Possible

“The book speaks to all disciplines and is a tribute to Dr. Chochinov’s very distinguished career and to his enduring contribution to advance understanding of the concept of dignity and why it is so critical in these challenging times. It is vital reading for novices to experts.”

Betty Ferrell PhD, FAAN, FPCN, CHPN, City of Hope Medical Center

Find Out More

Upcoming Events

Registration for the 2023 Dignity in Care Online Training Workshop is now open

Registration for the 2023 Dignity in Care Online Training Workshop is now open. This 3-day workshop will be taking place on September 14th, 21st, and 28th. Designed to enhance the human side of healthcare, the workshop will focus on the role and application of dignity in all aspects of clinical practice. The research, assessment tools, and clinical applications of dignity conserving care will be reviewed on Day 1, while Day 2 and Day 3 will provide a detailed look at the clinical application of Dignity Therapy.

Please click the button below to register for the workshop.

About Us

Kindness, humanity, and respect. These core values of health care must be safeguarded in our time-pressured world. Dignity in Care provides practical ideas and tools to support a culture of compassion and respect throughout the health care system.

Dignity in Care is based on 25 years of research by Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov in collaboration with progressive researchers from Australia, England and the United States.

Learn More

Humanity of Care

ABCD

The ABCDs are based on a paper published in 2007 in the British Medical Journal by Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov. Attitude, Behaviour,
Compassion and Dialogue can profoundly shape any clinical encounter. Everyone working in healthcare needs to take responsibility for knowing and practicing their ABCDs of Dignity in Care. It can make the difference between people feeling satisfied with their healthcare, and people feeling misunderstood and being reduced to “just another patient”.

Watch Full Video

FEATURED PUBLICATIONS

The Platinum Rule: A New Standard for Person-Centred Care

May 18, 2022

How decisions are made and patients cared for are often guided by the Golden Rule, which would have us treat patients as we would want to be treated in similar circumstances. But when patients’ lived experiences and outlooks deviate substantively…

Knowing about you: eliciting dimensions of personhood within tuberculosis care.

February 1, 2021

“A prominent theme among studies of the patient experience is the need to feel that patients are treated as unique persons, and that their humanity is expressed in their individuality or ‘personhood’.1 To be known for who you are, rather…

Death, Dying, and Dignity in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

October 23, 2020

“If the first casualty of war is truth, the first casualty of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for patients nearing death is human dignity. Although the pandemic has claimed ∼6800 Canadian lives, ∼60,000 people have died in Canada since the World Health…

Full List of publications