The psychological distress of terminal ill patients is a complex and subjective experience, including: depression, anxiety, hopelessness, demoralization, desire to death, loss of meaning and purpose, all related to loss of dignity. Maintaining the dignity of patients is not only the moral obligation and ethical consideration of medical professionals, but also the primary connotation of nursing care. The study interviewed 14 terminal ill patients about their perceptions of dignity to construct a Taiwan version of "Terminal Ill Patient Dignity Model" and "Terminal Ill Patient Dignity Scale ". The Terminal Ill Patient Dignity Model includes five domains: physical problems, psychological problems, privacy problems, support systems, and desire to death. Each domain contains 2 to 10 items. Finally, the Terminal Ill Patient Dignity Scale is developed in 22-items. A questionnaire survey and convenience sampling with 110 terminal ill patients in a medical center will be used to establish the validity and reliability of the scale.
The study is expected to reduce psychological distress in terminal ill patients, and to extend the application to early palliative patients.

Authors:
Yu-Chi Li, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Yu-Chi Li is currently an Assistant Professor of Kaohsiung Medical University, College of Nursing.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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