Dignity conserving care for older persons with palliative care needs

An intervention for dignity conserving care "Dignity Care Intervention" (DCI), was developed in Scotland and Ireland by Johnston and colleagues. DCI has its foundation in Chochinov's Dignity model and consists of three parts: An instrument with questions related to dignity (Patient Dignity Inventory), reflective questions, and evidence based care actions. DCI has showed positive effects when it comes to conserving dignity of older persons with palliative care needs, and makes it possible for an early identification of dignity related concerns so necessary care actions can be put in at the right time. DCI is also a support for nurses and can contribute to make them more safe in their professional role while meeting persons often being in a difficult and vulnerable situation. DCI has been translated and developed to a Swedish context (DCI-SWE) and was tested in a pilot study in 2017 within municipality home care. DCI-SWE includes the older person in the care planning and therefore makes a person centered approach possible.