Dignity-Conserving Care A New Model for Palliative Care Helping the Patient Feel Valued Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD, FRCPC The basic tenets of palliative care may be summarized as the goal of helping patients to die with dignity. The term "dignity" provides an overarching framework that may guide the physician, patient, and family in defining the objectives and therapeutic considerations fundamental to end-of-life care. Dignity-conserving care is care that may conserve or bolster the dignity of dying patients. Using segments of interviews with a patient with advanced lung cancer, his wife, and his palliative care physician, this article illustrates and explores various aspects of dignity-conserving care and the model on which it is based. Dignity-conserving care offers an approach that clinicians can use to explicitly target the maintenance of dignity as a therapeutic objective and as a principle of bedside care for patients nearing death. JAMA. 2002;287:2253-2260 Psycho-Oncology, 1/04 Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.