Promoting dignified end-of-life care in the emergency department: a qualitative study

A human being ’s dignity lies in the autonomy of a rational being capable of giving him/herself rules of action. For Immanuel Kant [1], this implies recognizing an internal value that makes one susceptible to treat him/herself, and all human beings, as an end and not as the means. The respect towards the dignit y of human life is also extended to the process of death, modifying the clinical relationship [2]. The hospitalization of a dying person in the Emergency Department (ED) has implications for maintaining his/her dignity, which can be a challenge for healthcare professionals [3,4].

Source: International Emergency Nursing - May 30, 2017 Category: Nursing Authors: Mar ía del Mar Díaz-Cortés, José Granero-Molina, José Manuel Hernández-Padilla, Rocío Pérez Rodríguez, Matías Correa Casado, Cayetano Fernández-Sola Source Type: research