A taxonomy of dignity: a grounded theory study

Grounded theory procedures were use to analyze literature pertaining to dignity and to conduct and analyze 64 semi-structured interviews with persons marginalized by their health or social status, individuals who provide health or social services to these populations, and people working in the field of health and human rights.The taxonomy presented identifies two main forms of dignity–human dignity and social dignity–and describes several elements of these forms, including the social processes that violate or promote them, the conditions under which such violations and promotions occur, the objects of violation and promotion, and the consequences of dignity violation. Together, these forms and elements point to a theory of dignity as a quality of individuals and collectives that is constituted through interaction and interpretation and structured by conditions pertaining to actors, relationships, settings, and the broader social order.The taxonomy has several implications for work in health and human rights. It suggests a map to possible points of intervention and provides a language in which to talk about dignity.Dignity has long been prominent in the discourses of both health and human rights. In health and healthcare, dignity is featured in many professional practice codes, is a key concept in fields like palliative and long-term care, and also arises in discussions of healthcare service delivery performance and reform [1-5]. Although somewhat controversial in North America, dignity is central to the "new bioethics" that has emerged in Europe over the last decade [6-8]. Dignity and human rights are historically and conceptually coupled in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [9-11]. Actions taken to respect, protect, and fulfill human rights promote dignity, while those that violate human rights also violate dignity.As signaled by its title, this paper has its origins in Jonathan Mann's insight that dignity is not only fundamental to health and human rights