Finding voice: Grounded theory of dignity among psychiatric inpatients

作者：Kehua Yang, Wenyu Yue, Shuting Zhang, Qunyan Shen, Xinghui Lv, Z. Yan, Lingling Cheng, Xiaoqin Ma, W CHEN · 发表于：Nursing Ethics · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1177/09697330261449463 · 研究领域：Patient Dignity and Privacy、Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints、Counseling Practices and Supervision

BackgroundPsychiatric inpatients in China may experience threats to dignity and self-expression within ward environments shaped by stigma, safety concerns, and institutional routines. However, how they navigate these challenges and restore dignity through everyday interactions during hospitalization remains underexplored in psychiatric nursing.AimTo develop a substantive theoretical framework explaining how Chinese psychiatric inpatients experience dignity challenges and navigate pathways toward dignity empowerment and restoration during hospitalization, and what role therapeutic relationships with mental health nurses play in facilitating this process.Research designConstructivist grounded theory following the Charmaz tradition, informed by relational autonomy theory.Participants and research context11 psychiatric inpatients were recruited from the psychiatric ward of a tertiary general hospital in China between March and June 2025, using maximum variation purposive sampling to ensure demographic diversity.Ethical considerationsEthical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (Reference 2025-2245-01).FindingsThe theoretical model "Finding Voice in Vulnerability" suggests that psychiatric inpatients may navigate dignity challenges through four interconnected relational processes: Cognitive Liberation and Conceptual Reconstruction, Relational Dignity Empowerment, Relational Reconstruction of Valued Ide...