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This piece describes how the faculty of City-As-School used Descriptive Inquiry to generate shared educational principles during the 2020-21 school year during the coronavirus pandemic. City-As-School is a public experiential learning school in New York City serving older adolescents seeking an alternative to traditional high school. Descriptive Inquiry is an inquiry process developed by Patricia Carini and faculty at the Prospect School in Bennington, Vermont, that supports educators in understanding children and their own educational practice to teach for human dignity, ethical well-being, and holistic growth. The piece provides an introduction to City-As-School and briefly describes how faculty members have used Descriptive Inquiry to foster whole school professional learning and growth. The piece then details how the faculty used Descriptive Inquiry to surface and concretize shared educational principles during the 2020-21 school year, a poignant example of Patricia Carini's notion of "making and doing philosophy in a school."
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The COVID-19 global pandemic is understood to be a multidimensional crisis, and yet undertheorised is how it reinforced the politics of dehumanisation. This article proposes an original framework that explains how dehumanisation undermines the human dignity of individuals with minoritised socio-economic identities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The framework identifies four interrelated mechanisms of crisis-driven dehumanisation: threat construction, expanded state coercion, reinforcement of hierarchies, and normalisation of deaths. The article argues that an understanding of these mechanisms is crucial for capturing the complexity of human rights deterioration during the COVID-19 pandemic. The article uses the plausibility probe method to demonstrate macro-processes of dehumanisation, with illustrative empirical examples from diverse societies during COVID-19. It proposes a framework for understanding these dehumanisation processes that can apply to other transnational crises. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of British Journal of Politics & International Relations is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)
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The number of Americans living with Alzheimer's and all other dementias continues to increase. Most of them will need long-term and community-based services as the disease progresses. While medical research is making advances, there is more work to be done to ensure that every person receives care that is person-centered and allows them to live with dignity and respect.
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A luta pelo direito à moradia no Brasil continuou existindo durante a pandemia de Covid-19 e precisou adotar novas estratégias diante das restrições sanitárias. Este artigo aborda as reivindicações do movimento do Museu das Remoções e sua atuação em defesa do direito à moradia. A pesquisa baseia-se em dados qualitativos da transcrição de debates realizados em 2020 e 2021 pelo Museu das Remoções com outros movimentos sociais na Internet. Os resultados revelam que os principais desafios enfrentados por movimentos sociais durante a pandemia foram a insuficiência do Estado brasileiro em assegurar o direito à moradia com dignidade nas cidades e a contínua violência nos despejos e nas remoções ocorridos mesmo diante das restrições sanitárias. A pesquisa mostra que a disputa por territórios nos centros urbanos atende fundamentalmente aos interesses do capitalismo imobiliário, capaz de inviabilizar inclusive o cumprimento de medidas sanitárias em saúde pública em meio a uma pandemia com elevada letalidade.Alternate :The struggle for the right to housing in Brazil continued to exist during the Covid-19 pandemic and had to adopt new strategies in the face of health restrictions. This article addresses the demands of the Museum of Removals movement and its performance in defense of the right to housing. The research is based on qualitative data from the transcript of debates held in 2020 and 2021 by the Removals Museum with other social movements on the internet. The results reveal that the main challenges faced by social movements during the pandemic were the failure of the Brazilian State to ensure the right to housing with dignity in cities and the continuous violence in evictions and removals that occurred even in the face of health restrictions. The research shows that the dispute over territories in urban centers fundamentally serves the interests of real estate capitalism, capable of even making it impossible to comply with sanitary measures in public health in the midst of a pandemic with high lethality.
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This chapter explores the work of the UK's Independent Society of Musicians (ISM) in tackling inequalities within the classical music industry and the wider music sector. It offers a brief outline of research into existing inequalities, before focusing on the ISM's work to address equality and diversity through the Dignity at Work campaign. The campaign was launched in 2017 and has produced three reports that explore the prevalence of discrimination within the music sector: Dignity at Work, Dignity in Study (produced jointly with the Musicians' Union and Equity), and Dignity at Work 2: Discrimination in the music sector. The chapter then examines the effect of the pandemic upon musicians, many of whom were self-employed and whose livelihoods were negatively affected by the measures introduced by the government to curb the spread of COVID-19;and how the ISM's campaigning work evolved through the pandemic to include calls for improved support for musicians financially and to help them return to performing. © Oxford University Press 2023. All rights reserved.
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Outcomes: 1. Utilizing a discussion-based approach, participants will self-report the ability to inject humanism and dignity into patient care by utilizing and incorporating initiatives like the MMLO into their practice. 2. Evaluate and analyze the impact of initiatives such as the MMLO project on patients' families and on healthcare workers. Purpose(s): As COVID-19 surged, patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) experienced diminished recognition of patient personhood and increased burnout. Adapted from the University of Alabama's MMLO initiative, the UNC palliative care team implemented the MMLO initiative in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to elicit personhood, restore patient dignity, and provide patient-centered care. The team also aimed to understand the MMLO's effect on HCWs and patient care. Method(s): Primary teams identified candidates and made referrals. The MMLO team called patients' loved ones to explain the initiative and ask questions from the MMLO form. Respondents' answers were posted at patients' bedsides along with collected patient photos. Survey data were collected from participants immediately prior to and 2-7 days after form completion. Quantitative and qualitative data from HCWs' experiences with MMLO were also collected after implementation. Result(s): Using a Mann-Whitney test, there is a significant improvement in median satisfactory level between the pre- and post-MMLO surveys of patients' loved ones regarding their perception of the care provided. Of the 21 HCWs surveyed, 96% agreed they learned something about their patients, and 58% stated they learned something about themselves after taking care of patients with a completed MMLO. Additionally, 90% of the HCWs stated that the MMLO increased their connectedness to their patients, and 76% stated that this project will positively change their future care of patients. Implications: The MMLO revealed the importance of connectedness and reflection. For HCWs, the connectedness to patients at a time of heightened stress reinforced a sense of purpose. Reflections concluded that the MMLO "visualized that people care" and provided a new lens for how others see the medical profession. Given these positive outcomes, we hope to universally implement the MMLO throughout the UNC Health Care system and promote it more broadly.Copyright © 2023
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With the deadly COVID-19 claiming more than 1.3 lakh lives by November 2020 in India, a very pertinent thought comes to anyone's mind. That, is it illegal to deny last rites to a COVID-19 deceased in India? Various health and safety guidelines issued by international organizations like the World Health Organization and national organizations like the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare concerning the last rites of COVID-19 patients have failed to address the issue at hand. Numerous reports of inhumane treatment of the dead have raised concerns among human rights activists and the Indian Courts wherein it was stated that the rights of the dead to a decent funeral are enshrined in Article 21 and Article 25 of the Indian Constitution. The paper provides detailed insights into the chaos that have unfolded around the last rites of the dead, traces the human rights jurisprudence on this much-neglected topic and concludes with the recent judicial pronouncements in the subject area.Copyright © 2020 Ubiquity Press. All rights reserved.
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To overcome social isolation and complete art production standstill, during the Covid-19 outbreak we chose the "blue pill” (The Matrix, 1999) in favour of an artificial, digital space where we transferred most of our activities and practices. Building on the idea that participating in artistic endeavours has a positive impact on psychological well-being and health and is a very good model to tackle current social challenges, we ran MAGNETS a collaborative art project in the digital realm. Through online interviews with the artists who participated in the MAGNETS project, we have discovered a powerful link between art and human dignity. In this paper, we argue that participation in collaborative artistic creation through the digital realm is a process that restores and reaffirms human dignity and contributes to "social healing”. We also call for more exploration of collaborative art in the digital realm as it offers a safe space where aesthetics is experienced through the process of creation and as a functional solution to a specific social problem. © 2023, ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering.
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The Covid-19 pandemic put the views of bioethicists on the allocation of scarce health care resources to the test. We consider positions taken by medical organizations and national ethics councils in Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Germany and Sweden. In several statements from these bodies, the concept of human dignity plays a central role. We argue that the use of this concept does not stand up to ethical scrutiny, and instead defend the view that decisions on the allocation of scarce resources should be guided by the goal of maximizing the net benefits to those affected. We conclude by asking whether the fact that, in some regions, after vaccination became widely available, the scarcity of hospital beds was largely caused by members of the community choosing not to be vaccinated against the virus that causes Covid-19 should play a role in allocating resources to unvaccinated people who subsequently became ill from that virus. © 2022 Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecinskiego. All rights reserved.
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Selected lower-tier occupational sectors were defined as essential during the early phase of the Covid crisis. Accordingly, that period provided an opportunity to explore whether certain African American lower-tier workers might have acquired a greater sense of dignity and value for their work. By drawing from the author's earlier research on low-income African Americans and a recent study of such workers, this essay explores how considerations of value and dignity in the workplace during early Covid inform about the prospects for organizing such lower-tier workers for union participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Work & Occupations is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
ABSTRACT
Domestic violence or intimate partner violence, can be defined as a pattern of behaviors which could be physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions or threats of actions in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate weaker partner that influence another person. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion or socioeconomic background and education levels. It can occur within a range of relationships and not just those who live with us in our homes. These incidents are seldom isolated and escalate in frequency and severity if not opposed initial stage itself and may harm physically as well as emotionally and at times even endangers lives. Statistics for this is grave be it our country be it abroad and it became more grim covid times when staying home was not always safe. There are various factors involved from genesis to the maintainence of this menace medicolegal aspects and many more. Multidisciplinary approach for awareness that one needs to seek help, that one is not alone and various measures for curbing this grave issue is required at all levels. Domestic violence is the outcome of cumulative irresponsible behaviour which a section of society demonstrates. It is also important to note that solely the abuser is not just responsible but also those who allow this to happen and act as mere mute spectators. In this era of rights-based mental health services, such 'hidden shades' of mental wellbeing form potent challenges, which face unique conditions of demographics, prevalence of mental disorders and awareness related to this grave issue of domestic violence. Human rights are universal and are vital for promoting mental health and dignity. With this premise, this symposium intends to unfold the various factors involved and highlight the intersections of Domestic volence and approaches required to bring about and discuss strategies to curb it in light of the lessons learnt from experiences across the globe.
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Background: One of the most important ethical requirements of the medical profession is to maintain the human dignity of patients. COVID-19 pandemic imposes a lot of stress on patients, which can be an obstacle to maintain the patients' dignity. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between resilience and human dignity in patients with COVID-19. Method: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2021 on 180 patients admitted to COVID wards in Birjand, Iran. Data were collected using the Patient Dignity Inventory (PDI) and Conner-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RIS). Data were analyzed by SPSS software (version 20) and descriptive and inferential statistics. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean overall human dignity score of the patients was 51.41 ± 19.56. The women reported a poorer perception of dignity and its distress symptom and social support dimensions than men (p <0.05). The mean overall resilience score of the patients was 65.95 ± 12.96. In control dimension, the mean resilience scores of men was significantly higher than women (p < 0.05). Inverse relationship was found between resilience and human dignity in patients COVID-19 (p <0.001). Implications for Practice: The resilience is a protective factor for the patients' dignity. The preservation of dignity in patients care process during COVID-19 pandemic and the use of effective methods to improve their resilience can be helpful to overcome these stressful situations. © 2022 Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved.
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AIM: The aim of this study was to understand the lived experience of altruism and sacrifices among Swedish nurses working in intensive care units (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: This was a descriptive phenomenological study. METHODS: The study was conducted between June 2020 and March 2021 and included 20 nurses who were directly involved in the ICU care of COVID-19 patients in Sweden during the pandemic. The text transcripts were analysed using Malterud's Systematic Text Condensation. FINDINGS: The analysis revealed four themes. The work situation changed from 1 day to another-the nurses were brutally confronted with a new and highly demanding situation. Adapting to the chaotic situation-despite fear, anguish and exhaustion, the nurses adapted to the new premises. They shouldered the moral responsibility and responded to the needs of the patients and the health care system since they had the competence. Being confronted with ethical and moral challenges-the nurses were overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness and inadequacy because despite how hard they worked, they were still unable to provide care with dignity and of acceptable quality. The importance of supporting each other-collegiality was fundamental to the nurses' ability to cope with the situation. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, being exposed to a constantly changing situation, facing the anguish and misery of patients, families, and colleagues, and being confronted with a conflict between the moral obligation to provide care of high quality and the possibility to fulfil this commitment resulted in suffering among the nurses. Collegial back-up and a supportive culture within the caring team were important for the nurses' endurance. IMPACT: The study contributes an understanding of nurses' lived experience of working during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the importance of protecting and preparing nurses and nursing organisation for potential future crises.
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Aim: As a brief psychotherapy for individuals facing mortal threat, Dignity Therapy (DT) effects on spiritual outcomes are unknown, especially as an intervention to support cancer health equity for racial minority patients. Our study aim was to compare usual outpatient palliative care and such care along with nurse-led or chaplain-led DT groups for main effects on dignity impact and the interaction of DT with race. Method(s): We conducted the 4-step, stepped-wedge randomized control trial at 4 NCI designated cancer centers and 2 academic cancer centers across the United States. Half of the sites were randomized to chaplain-led DT and half to nurse-led DT. Of the 645 recruited cancer patients (age >= 55 years) receiving outpatient palliative care, 579 (59% female, mean age 66.4+/-7.4 years, 78% White, 77% Christian religion, 62% stage 4 cancer) provided data for intent-totreat analysis. Over 6 weeks, patients completed pretest/posttest measures including the Dignity Impact Scale (DIS, primary outcome) ranging from low impact of 7 to highest impact of 35. In step 1-3, study procedures were completed in person. In step 4 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), when all sites were providing the intervention, study procedures were completed via Zoom. We used multiple imputation and regression analysis adjusting for pretest DIS, study site, and study step. Result(s): Of the 579 patients, 317 were in the DT group and 262 in the usual care group. The vast majority of the sample was White (n=448) along with 103 Blacks, 5 Asians, 2 Pacific Islanders, 1 Native American, 13 other races (all minorities were combined as Other Race), and 7 were missing race data. At pretest, the mean DIS score was 24.3+/-4.3 in the DT group and 25.9+/-4.3 in the usual care group. Adjusting for pretest DIS scores, study site, and study step, the chaplain-led (beta=1.7, p=.02) and nurse-led (beta=2.1, p=.005) groups reported significantly higher posttest DIS scores than the usual care groups. Adjusting for age, gender, race, education, and income, the effect on DIS scores remained significant for both DT groups. We then examined the interaction between race and DT with the entire sample and observed that the interaction was not significant (p=.73) and the sizes of DT effects were similar for White (beta=1.9, p=.005) and the Other Race (beta=1.6, p=.055) patients. Conclusion(s): Whether led by chaplains or nurses, DT was effective in improving dignity impact for older adult outpatient palliative care patients with cancer. DT, a patient-centered approach, has promise as an intervention to improve health equity in support of dignity for racial minorities. This rigorous trial of DT is a landmark step in gero-oncology palliative care and spiritual health services research focused on cancer health equity.
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Sub-Saharan African countries have been hit by the Coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19) since March 2020. Besides the resulting health and economic disasters is the psycho-socio-cultural problem related with the management of corpses of people dead from the disease, which might hinder the implementation of the response strategy. In Cameroon for instance, the current corpse management policy is very disputed. In fact, although they were recently made more flexible, the restrictions applied to burials still ban any transfer of dead bodies between cities. In light of the African cultural considerations of dead persons, the disputes observed between the families and the health personnel, the legislation and the available scientific evidence, this article analyses the risks and benefits of allowing families to bury their relatives. It thereafter suggests solutions that reconcile dignity (by allowing families to bury their dead relatives in their homes) and safety (by ensuring a sealed handling and the surveillance by a judiciary police officer). Applying these solutions could improve the population's trust towards the health system, and positively contribute to COVID-19 case prevention, identification and management. Copyright © 2020, African Field Epidemiology Network. All rights reserved.
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In this paper, I reflect on some of the ethical dimensions of public engagement with geographic research. The paper draws on my recent experience of a project entitled 'Not working from home', which sought to make visible the everyday experiences of essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project was intended as a space for essential workers to document their daily lives using text, images and video, enabling them to engage with each other, while also informing the wider public about the everyday challenges of not working from home during the pandemic. The paper discusses some of the ethical implications and challenges of conducting this project, drawing on a critical engagement with dignity as an ethical framework for public engagement. I discuss the implications of calling workers 'essential', the role of collective and professional identities explored by the participants, and the impact of offering rewards. I also ask some broader questions on the role that the concept of dignity might play in the ethics of public engagement with research in human geography.
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OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a complex and profound impact on the provision of palliative care globally. To support learning from palliative care providers and researchers worldwide, the Education Subcommittee of International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Palliative Care Special Interest Group developed a webinar with presentations by and discussion with eight international palliative care leaders. METHODS: Presentations were content rich; the speakers used both quantitative (e.g., sharing recent statistical findings) and qualitative (e.g., narrative storytelling, anecdotal experiences) approaches to portray the effect of COVID-19 in their region. Subsequent to the webinar, the committee collectively identified five themes conveyed by the presenters through consensus. RESULTS: The themes included: (1) altered accessibility to palliative care, with socio-economic status impacting virtual health availability; (2) reduced opportunities to preserve dignity, as survival has been prioritized over preserving the humanity of patients and their loved ones; (3) complicated grief and bereavement arising from social distancing requirements; (4) greater awareness of the importance of sustaining health provider well-being; and (5) the development of valuable innovations across nations, institutions, disciplines, and communities. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the webinar facilitated valuable connection for global learning and identified opportunities for research and clinical interventions. In an ongoing crisis that has exacerbated isolation, we will need to continue to learn and lean on one another as a global community to navigate ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Le sujet de l'allocation des ressources et des choix qu'elle implique se pose constamment en santé. La crise Covid l'a cependant rendue plus visible tout en l'exacerbant puisqu'elle a concerné l'accès à la réanimation avec, par conséquent, un enjeu vital. Dans la perspective d'un risque très sérieux de pénurie, le sort des patients âgés a immédiatement été interrogé. En particulier, la question a été soulevée de savoir si l'âge pouvait être un critère d'exclusion des services de réanimation. Au sein de l'hexagone, la réponse a paru clairement négative. Contrairement à d'autres pays, la France a en effet refusé de fixer un âge seuil pour cet accès. En ce sens, sociétés savantes et autorités administratives ont multiplié les recommandations réaffirmant les principes éthiques fondés notamment sur l'égalité, la dignité et la justice sociale. Ces textes ont ainsi donné l'impression d'une continuité malgré la crise. Revêtu d'une certaine portée normative (les recommandations entendaient toutes guider les comportements des différents acteurs de prise de décision médicale), ce corpus mérite d'être étudié sous l'angle juridique dans l'idée de révéler les principes en tension dans une telle situation de crise. Car si les textes prennent soin de rappeler l'interdiction de discriminer sur le critère de l'âge, il est possible d'y déceler en filigrane une discrimination indirecte fondée sur ce critère. Et, lorsque l'âge est conjugué à d'autres caractéristiques ou situations spécifiques – on pense ici aux résidents d'Ehpad –, ces textes conduisent même à une véritable exclusion des plus vulnérables du système de soins de droit commun.Alternate :The allocation of resources and the choices involved in such decisions is an ongoing issue in healthcare. But the COVID crisis boosted the visibility of this subject while exacerbating it, since a central concern of the epidemic was the vital issue of access to intensive care. With the prospect of a highly serious risk of shortage, the fate of elderly patients immediately became a key aspect. In particular, the question was asked if age could be a criterion from excluding individuals from intensive care units. In France, the answer to this question was overwhelmingly "No". Contrary to other countries, France refused to set a threshold age for access to intensive care. Supporting this decision, administrative authorities and learned societies issued numerous recommendations reasserting ethical principles based on equality, dignity and social justice. These texts gave the impression of continuity despite the crisis. Relating in varying degrees to the setting of standards – the recommendations all strove to guide the behaviour of the various medical decision-makers –, this corpus deserves to be studied from a legal standpoint with a view to identifying principles that come under pressure in crisis situations such as the COVID pandemic. Because while the texts conscientiously reminded readers that discriminating on the basis of age is forbidden, an indirect discrimination based on exactly that criterion can be read between the lines. And while age is combined with other specific situations or characteristics (with a thought for the residents of retirement homes), these texts can even lead to the true exclusion of the most vulnerable individuals from the general healthcare system.
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If dependency makes vulnerable: Nursing home residents' claims for dignity-conserving nursing care - A narrative literature review Abstract. Introduction: Due to an increase in the very old population, it is important to know what is needed in order to support older people's needs regarding dignity-conserving nursing care when living in a nursing home. Aim: The aim of this article is to gather information on how nursing home residents feel respected and protected in regards of their dignity. Methods: A narrative literature review was conducted in the databases CINAHL Complete and PubMed. Six qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria and were compared regarding similarities. Results: The protection of dignity is jeopardized not only by the residents' dependency, but also by nurses, social environment, and society. To protect their own dignity, residents wanted to be perceived as individuals and be treated with respect. Additionally, they wanted to be as independent as possible and take part in meaningful activities. Discussion: Facilitation of staff members as well as flat, peripheral leadership structures are important in order to protect the residents' dignity. The residents' needs regarding social and societal participation has been additionally challenged due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic enforced innovations that may help protect nursing home residents' dignity. Conclusions: These findings can help nurses to protect the dignity of nursing home residents in their daily lives and in the implementation of care measures.
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Human Rights are inalienable. As stated by the UN Charter, gender equality is the fundamental right of every human being. As stated by the Vienna Declaration, women's and girls' rights are inalienable, integral, and form an indivisible part of universal human rights. The entire world has raised its voice and has reached its peak in the 1990s. India, precariously being a male-dominated society, has always looked down on a woman as a vulnerable group, to be dependent, owing to certain sociological, political, and biological conditions. Gender-based violence, as stated by the UN declaration, includes violence against women. It brings within it the broader framework of gender-based discrimination. In every nook and corner, we see and hear about violence against a girl child/ women irrespective of their age, caste, creed, social and economic conditions, and the happenings that shackle all humanity with ignominy. These instances profligately eliminate their basic human rights. Intimate Partner Violence is such a kind of violence, which is distinct from domestic violence and is most common among couples. It is a behavior prevailing in an intimate relationship that leads to physical, psychological, or sexual harm. It is restricted to marital status and extends to non-marital, extramarital relationships, dating couples, live-in relationships, and non-discriminatory. There are instances where women also abuse men in intimate relations. In cases of self-defense, women can be more violent against men. However, overwhelming instances illustrate women as victims in the hands of their male partners, existing or ex-partners. Though attached a social stigma to these relationships, the abuse meted in the hands of their perpetrators affects the physical and psychological traits. This paper mainly emphasizes the nature of Intimate Partner Violence, its instincts, the psychological disorders, and its effects on their right to live with dignity during covid-19 and concludes with possible suggestions and recommendations.