New generation of researchers promotes dignity in care

The EU project InnovateDignity has come to an end after three years.

Involving several European universities, the project’s main objective was to train a new generation of researchers willing to take on societal challenges related to dignity in care for older people.

Fifteen doctoral students explored issues such as: health and social care from the perspective of older people in different European countries; the use of new digital technologies; and the complexity and importance of gender in health and social care (eg, comparing career paths in health care for men and women).

“A key finding of the project is that older people themselves express the need for emotional support, not just practical support in long-term care,” said Kristina Nässén, senior lecturer and project manager at the University of Borås and supervisor for three of the doctoral students.

“They also want to feel in control of the situation they are in. What our research shows is that being dependent on others is not necessarily experienced as difficult, but that it is the quality of the caring relationship that determines the experience of wellbeing,” Nässén said.

Two PhD students at the University of Borås, Lamprini Xiarchi from Greece and Karoline Lang Mathiesen from Denmark, had a difficult start during the pandemic years as they had to conduct their studies from their respective home countries. In her doctoral thesis, Xiarchi focused on the experiences of registered nurses and nursing students in caring for older people, from a gendered perspective.

“Scandinavian societies promote gender equality, but there are still wage differences and there are more men in leading positions,” Xiarchi said.

“In all European countries that we study, we know from previous research that gender roles and society’s expectations affect career choices and continued careers.”

As part of her PhD, Mathiesen examined, among other things, the unique competences needed by registered nurses caring for older people. Through interviews and observations, she explored the caring relationship between nurses and older people cared for at home.

The two PhD students bring valuable new experiences from their home countries.

Xiarchi said there were “major organisational and structural differences” between Greece and Nordic countries. “Public older people care in Greece is not so built up, due to the fact that there are many informal structures instead. For example, it is very common that older people live with or near their adult children. On the other hand, Greek nurses have a longer education: their education is four years long and many also earn a master’s degree,” she said.

The doctoral students at the other universities in the program are currently applying for postdoctoral positions to spread the idea of dignity in elderly care.

A total of nine universities in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Greece and the United Kingdom were involved in the project, which ran from 2019 to 2023. The project was led by the University of Brighton and funded by the European Commission under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Innovative Training Network.

Image credit: iStock.com/FG Trade Latin