Privacy and dignity of cancer patients: a qualitative study of patients privacy in UK National Health Service patient care settings.

BACKGROUND

I undertook this research to determine the extent to which privacy and dignity of National Health Service (NHS) patients were respected by health practitioners.

METHODS

I used the principles of ethnography to undertake fieldwork observation of 3 wards within a general hospital to interpret the culture of the wards and its impact on the perception and behaviors of patients and staff. I used grounded theory and phenomenology to analyze the perceptions and experiences.

RESULTS

I organized the data into 11 key categories. I adopted the classic works of Goffman as interpretative tools, which led to the formation of a privacy model.

CONCLUSION

Analysis of the categories established that patients had very little privacy in acute wards of NHS hospitals.