Veterans categorized staff (i.e., psychologist, physician, physical and occupational
therapist, social worker, and housekeeping) as having a “low” or “no” potential to threaten
patient dignity. Veterans explained that in general, SCI staff do their best to preserve
their dignity. While many Veterans had examples of occurrences when they felt staff did
something to threaten their dignity, this was usually the exception rather than the norm.
The item “nurse” fell into its own group, suggesting an ambiguity; as many Veterans
categorized “nurse” as having a high potential to threaten dignity, compared to those
who categorized “nurse” as posing “no” threat to dignity. Interview data suggest that
Veterans tend to categorize nurses as having the highest potential to threaten patient
dignity because they perform intimate tasks like bowel care. On the other hand, Veterans
explain that nurses also have the greatest potential to promote patient dignity in the way
they protect privacy, autonomy, personhood, and independence while performing these
tasks.