Dignity-Affirming Care in Research-Practice Partnerships

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) have the potential to affirm the dignity of participants through caring interactions, which support good relationships. A key ethical principle to guide the cultivation of good relationships in an RPP is a quality of relating that we call dignity-affirming care. We define dignity-affirming care as speech, actions, and dispositions that demonstrate concern for another and their expressed needs and goals in a manner that affirms their essential worth or value. We provide evidence that RPPs can embody the principle of dignity-affirming care while also noting some ways partners experienced ways of relating that did not reflect this kind of care. Further, we describe four underlying mechanisms that support care: the intensity of and concentration of relationships, a willingness to recognize social identities, and the ability to take on new roles.