The Humanising Care Project.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Humanising Services: A new transferable leadership strategy for improving ’what matters to older people’ to enhance dignity in care
IRAS ID
150621
Contact name
Kathleen Galvin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Hull
Research summary
The experience of dignity is linked to what makes people ‘feel human’. Recent reports have highlighted the unacceptable consequences for patient care where staff and healthcare contexts lose sight of the human aspects of care (Francis, 2013). There is a pressing need to identify and understand what leads to dehumanisation and loss of dignity in order to support meaningful service improvement (Patients Association, 2009; 2012). Galvin and Todres (2009) have identified and defined eight key considerations that could support nurses and frontline practitioners to focus on human values within the complex caring environments in which they work.
This study will work with patients and practitioners in two discrete settings, a dermatology outpatient department (Hull) and a stroke rehabilitation unit (Bournemouth) to explore what matters to older people in relation to dignity in care and practice. The study will be grounded in an action research methodology (Reason and Bradbury, 2009) and utilize the humanisation framework (Todres et al, 2009) to support locally determined quality improvement initiatives. In Phase 1, a research group in each setting, comprising older people, practitioners and researchers will come together and reflect on areas of care and practice relating to experiences of feeling human or, conversely, where dignity is compromised. These Action Research groups will reflect on the eight dimensions of the humanization framework as a tool for understanding healthcare experiences and assessing how well the settings do in responding to human aspects of care and practice. Each group will then identify and prioritise options for quality improvement. The groups will begin to outline possible strategies to implement their local improvement initiative. As Phase 1 concludes, the research team will submit a Phase 2 Research Ethics application. This will detail the plans and methods for project implementation and evaluation, documenting transferable strategies and tools to support others.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NE/1046
Date of REC Opinion
17 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion