Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Psychology
Advisor
Jerrod Brown
Abstract
Health care requirements of older persons in prison are complicated, and many may require palliative care before their term is completed. The purpose of this qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis was to explore perspectives on dignity in death for end-of-life inmates through the lens of nine prison medical professionals. Concepts of dignity provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected from one-to-one audio-recorded Zoom interviews and reflective literature articles. Axial coding and thematic data analysis were used to identify five themes: committed to their vocation, lack of services in administering proper health care, institutional barriers prohibiting death with dignity, compassion toward patients as individuals, and recommendations to implement medical and penal system policy and procedures addressing needs of terminally ill incarcerated patients. Findings may contribute to the discussion and positive social change on implementing structured palliative/hospice care within prisons.
Recommended Citation
Lupo, Charlene, "Prison Medical Professionals’ Perspectives on Dignity in Death for End-of-Life Inmates" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 12445.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/12445
