Dignity and its related factors among older adults in long-term care facilities: A cross-sectional study.

Participants were recruited by convenience sampling from three long-term care facilities in one city, so the results may not apply to all older adults in long-term care. The study measured dignity and factors at one time point, so it cannot show that any factor caused lower dignity or that dignity changed over time. The dignity scale was self-developed and unpublished, and it was designed to detect experiences that undermine dignity rather than experiences that preserve dignity. The regression model accounted for 39.2% of the variance in dignity scores, and the study did not include many other possible influences on dignity. People were excluded if they had impaired hearing, vision, or cognition, a history of mental illness or disorder, palliative care or terminal cancer, or had lived in the facility for less than half a year, so the results may not apply to more frail or cognitively impaired residents.

This work was supported by the Health Commission of Zhejiang Province (Grant number 2018KY544, 2018). The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Do not conclude that these factors cause loss of dignity or that specific nursing actions will preserve dignity. This was a cross-sectional survey of older adults in three Hangzhou facilities, and the dignity scale was self-developed.