Dignity Tools for Researchers
The Dignity Model is the basis for practical tools to support people who work in health care:.
The Patient Dignity Question (PDQ)
The key question everyone working in health care should consider when interacting with patients
The Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI)
Covers 25 potential concerns that should be regularly evaluated by health care providers
Dignity Therapy at end-of-life
A model for individualized psychotherapy, developed and piloted by the team and intended for people near end of life a successful online platform.
The Patient Dignity Question (PDQ)
The PDQ is a simple, open-ended question: “What do I need to know about you as a person to give you the best care possible?”
Research has shown that this single question can identify issues and stressors that may be important to consider when planning and delivering the patient’s care and treatment. The intent is to reveal the “invisible” factors that might not otherwise come to light – and to identify these concerns early in the process.
The PDQ is useful during every stage of care and treatment, such as:
- During routine physicals
- While carrying out diagnostic tests
- When admitting patients
- Before providing personal care
- When considering forms of treatment or therapy
- While discussing home care or long-term care arrangements
The intent is to get everyone in the health care community thinking about patients as unique human beings, rather than as a specific illness or collection of symptoms.
The Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI)
The PDI is designed to give clinicians a broad overview or “snapshot” of how the patient is doing at any point in time.
Using a simple questionnaire, patients are asked to rate their current condition on the basis of 25 different indicators. Each question is based on empirical research into the most common factors influencing patients’ personal sense of dignity.
For each factor, the patient indicates his/her degree of concern on a five-point scale, with 1 representing “not a problem” and 5 representing “an overwhelming problem.”
The questionnaire is designed to be used by physicians, nurses, social workers, pastoral care providers – anyone attempting to evaluate how the patient is coping. A list of therapeutic interventions has been developed to address the 20 major areas of concern.
Dignity Therapy for dying patients
Dignity Therapy was developed by Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov to assist people dealing with the imminent end of their lives.
This brief intervention can help conserve the dying patient’s sense of dignity by addressing sources of psychosocial and existential distress. It gives patients a chance to record the meaningful aspects of their lives and leave something behind that can benefit their loved ones in the future.
During a 30 to 60 minute session, the therapist asks a series of open-ended questions that encourage patients to talk about their lives or what matters most to them. The conversation is recorded, transcribed, edited and then returned within a few days to the patient, who is given the opportunity to read the transcript and make changes before a final version is produced. Many choose to share the document with family and friends.
