Purpose: Dignity is a basic human right that is related to psychological distress factors in patients with
cancer such as depression and demoralization. Hence, the dignity issue is of great importance to
healthcare professionals. The present study aimed to advise healthcare professionals regarding the
related distress factors of dignity in patients with cancer by investigating its relationship with patients’
demographics, disease characteristics, and psychological distress.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study design. A convenience sample of 267 patients with cancer
from a medical center was recruited into this study. Each patient completed demographics and disease
characteristics questionnaires, the Patient Dignity Inventory Mandarin Version, the Demoralization Scale
Mandarin Version (DS-MV), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Data were analyzed with
SPSS 22.0 software.
Results: Dignity was significantly correlated with age, demoralization, and depression. Cancer patients
aged 65 or above were more likely to have a lower sense of dignity. In the present study, the sensitivity
and specificity of the Patient Dignity Inventory Mandarin Version for demoralization (DS-MVꠑ30) were
84.8% and 79.1% and for depression (PHQ-9ꠑ10) were 73.8% and 70.9% in patients with cancer with an
aggregate score of 35 or above.
Conclusions: Dignity is significantly correlated with personal demographic characteristics and psychoꠓlogical distress in patients with cancer. The results provide reference data for healthcare professionals to
understand and enable dignity in patients with cancer and aid in the development of methods that
promote their dignity