Healthcare systems face a growing challenge: as technology advances, patients increasingly feel like data points in systems that prioritise efficiency over empathy. This paper addresses the global healthcare crisis of disconnection, arguing that fundamental change requires putting human experience at the centre through Caring Science principles in nursing. COVID-19 clearly revealed this disconnect. While showcasing scientific advances, it exposed gaps in compassionate care and fair access globally. Nurses struggled to maintain human connection while dealing with resource shortages and isolation protocols, proving that advanced medical treatments alone cannot address the physical, emotional, spiritual, and social factors that influence health. This work draws on peer-reviewed studies, contemporary research, and theories of human caring to demonstrate the global responsibility and urgent need for integrating caring practices into healthcare systems. Collectively, this evidence underscores both the necessity of intervention and the effectiveness of Caring Science as a strategy for transforming organisational practices while highlighting a pressing truth: healthcare systems worldwide must move beyond efficiency alone and intentionally weave caring practices into their structures. This analysis examines Caring Science through three key areas: Relational, Organisational, and Global. Using Watson's Theory of Human Caring and current research, the paper shows how caring relationships can improve through thoughtful use of innovation. Recent healthcare improvements demonstrate promising results when technology integration enhances both nurse empowerment and patient outcomes within frameworks that prioritise human connection. Future directions position Caring Science as a mature, evidence-informed framework for addressing healthcare's complex challenges. The paper calls for 'sacred activism'-a commitment to protecting caring's essential dimensions while embracing beneficial innovation, positioning nursing to lead healthcare transformation through both the art and science of nursing that honours human dignity.

This narrative review explores five essential nursing specialties: addiction nursing, disaster nursing, critical care nursing, rehabilitation nursing, and geriatric nursing, within the context of increasingly complex healthcare environments. Addiction nursing is highlighted as a frontline discipline addressing the multifaceted causes and occupational risks of substance use disorders, affecting both patients and healthcare professionals. Disaster nursing emphasizes the importance of preparedness and structural resilience in response to global emergencies, calling for interprofessional collaboration and systemic reform. Critical care nursing is examined through the lens of moral sensitivity and occupational stress, reflecting the ethical demands and psychological toll faced by nurses in high-stakes settings. Rehabilitation nursing underscores the need for specialized training and adaptive, evidence-based educational models to support diverse patient recovery trajectories. Geriatric nursing responds to global demographic shifts and healthcare workforce shortages by advocating for the elimination of ageist attitudes and the promotion of dignified, compassionate elder care. Across all five domains, the review identifies common challenges, including ethical concerns, competency gaps, and workforce strain, which require targeted interventions through policy development, educational reform, and institutional support. The findings call for an integrative and human-centered approach to nursing practice that prioritizes emotional resilience, professional values, and the safeguarding of human dignity. Strengthening these specialties is critical not only to improving patient outcomes but also to supporting the sustainability and well-being of the nursing workforce in demanding care settings.

This study aims to examine how infectious disease prevention mechanisms are constructed and operationalized within carceral settings in transitional states, using China as a representative case. It focuses on the discursive and structural strategies employed by stakeholders to navigate institutional challenges in epidemic control and to delineate responsibilities across health and justice sectors, while also considering the ethical implications of these strategies and upholding the dignity and rights of individuals affected. Guided by the epidemiological triangle model, the study adopts a dual-method qualitative design. First, it conducts a normative analysis of Chinese legal and administrative frameworks related to prison-based disease prevention. Second, it integrates empirical fieldwork based on 21 semi-structured interviews with correctional staff, health administrators, and incarcerated individuals across three provinces, supported by thematic and content analysis. Findings reveal that China's carceral health governance has undergone a three-stage transformation-from institutional neglect to legal formalization, and ultimately to preventive risk management. Stakeholders engage in discursive boundary work by aligning prison health efforts with national public health objectives, while structural boundary work manifests in spatial segregation, surveillance routines, and inter-agency protocols. Digital surveillance and health monitoring systems, as part of these structural strategies, have contributed to improving public health outcomes in carceral settings by enabling real-time data sharing and timely intervention. However, these systems also raise ethical concerns: individuals with drug use histories or criminal records often worry that such monitoring, linked to stigmatized or criminalized practices, may be used for punitive purposes or excessive control rather than solely for health protection. Despite advances, gaps remain in enforcement consistency, resource allocation, and the legal clarity of emergency mandates. Additionally, carceral settings have long been plagued by systemic issues such as overcrowding, inadequate basic health services, and the erosion of human dignity, which create favorable conditions for the rapid spread of infectious diseases-these structural deficiencies are key drivers of high disease transmission rates in such environments. The study highlights boundary work as a central mechanism for institutional adaptation in prison health governance. China's evolving approach offers scalable insights for other transitional states, emphasizing the need for integrated, context-aware strategies that reconcile biopolitical control with human rights considerations, and explicitly address ethical dilemmas arising from surveillance and other intervention measures. Effective prison health reform requires not only legal mandates but also infrastructural investment to address overcrowding and inadequate health services, intersectoral cooperation, sustained political commitment, and a fundamental commitment to restoring and upholding the human dignity of individuals in carceral settings. It also necessitates establishing safeguards to ensure that monitoring tools are used strictly for health purposes and do not become instruments of unfair control or discrimination.

The speech-language pathology profession strongly supports human rights. The Preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the Child provides the profession with a justification for doing so; to uphold the worth or inherent dignity of humans, specifically of children. Further reference to children's dignity is made throughout the Convention, including in Article 23 (Children With Disability). This paper explores why dignity is foundational to human rights and to our work as speech-language pathologists. The concept of dignity is explored in philosophical and health research. The connection between dignity, ethics, holistic, and person-centered practice is discussed. Dignity means value or worth. Upholding children's dignity means recognizing the worth of children, which is intrinsic, not dependent on any feature or skill, and which cannot be taken away. Speech-language pathologists have a role to play in upholding and promoting this dignity. Speech-language pathology may benefit from a move toward a model that promotes dignity as the goal of pediatric practice.

The phenomenon of cyberbullying is increasingly prevalent and has serious impacts on individuals’ psychological and moral conditions, especially among adolescents. This study aims to analyze cyberbullying through the perspectives of humanity and moral autonomy based on the thought of Immanuel Kant. The method used is qualitative-descriptive with a literature study approach. The results show that cyberbullying contradicts Kant’s categorical imperative, which emphasizes respect for human dignity and actions based on universal principles. Low levels of digital literacy and ethical awareness are the main factors contributing to this behavior. In conclusion, addressing cyberbullying requires not only legal approaches but also the strengthening of moral education and digital ethics to build a more responsible and civilized society.

The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the problems of ensuring proper medical care for persons deprived of liberty through the prism of international human rights protection standards and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It is substantiated that the quality and accessibility of medical care in penitentiary institutions constitute one of the key indicators of adherence to the rule of law, respect for human dignity, and the effectiveness of the state human rights protection system. Particular emphasis is placed on the heightened vulnerability of persons held in places of detention, given their complete dependence on state institutions in matters of health care. Based on an analysis of the judgments of the ECtHR, in particular in cases against Ukraine, the main criteria of “adequate medical care” in conditions of deprivation of liberty are identified. These include timely access to a physician, proper diagnosis, continuity and effectiveness of treatment, as well as the compatibility of detention conditions with prisoners’ medical needs. It is demonstrated that the formal provision of medical procedures without achieving a real clinical outcome does not meet the standards of Article 3 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The article analyzes Ukrainian national legislation in the field of medical care for convicted persons and establishes that, despite its formal compliance with international standards, the practice of its implementation remains problematic. Systemic shortcomings of penitentiary medicine are identified, including the institutional dependence of medical staff on prison administrations, insufficient funding and shortages of specialized personnel, outdated material and technical resources, and the ineffectiveness of national legal remedies. On the basis of generalizing the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and international recommendations, the article proposes key directions for improving the system of medical care for persons deprived of liberty. These include completing the integration of penitentiary medicine into the civilian health care system, ensuring the genuine implementation of the principle of equivalence of medical care, strengthening guarantees of the professional independence of physicians, and enhancing the role of judicial and non-judicial oversight. It is concluded that the implementation of these measures is a necessary condition for fulfilling Ukraine’s international obligations and reducing the number of human rights violations in places of detention. Keywords: medical care, penal institutions, human rights, deprivation of liberty, European Court of Human Rights, penitentiary medicine, health care, vulnerable groups, mental health, continuity of care, legal protection mechanisms, international standards, penitentiary system reform.

Contemporary social work faces mounting pressure to transcend its historically Eurocentric theoretical foundations and engage more meaningfully with diverse epistemological traditions. Indigenous value systems, characterised by holistic well-being, relational ontologies, communal responsibility, and deep ecological connectedness, offer substantial conceptual resources for enriching social work practice in ways that are culturally responsive, community-centred, and structurally transformative. This review article examines the theoretical and practical dimensions of synergising social work with Indigenous value systems to address pressing contemporary social challenges, including mental health crises, child welfare concerns, environmental degradation, and entrenched social inequalities. Drawing on a narrative review of peer-reviewed literature and authoritative international reports, the article identifies key convergence points between social work and Indigenous epistemologies, critically analyses the decolonisation imperative within the profession, and proposes a conceptual framework that integrates Indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream social work theory and practice. The framework emphasises four interlocking principles: epistemic pluralism, relational accountability, cultural safety, and structural transformation. The article further discusses implications for social work education, policy formulation, and frontline practice, whilst acknowledging the significant challenges posed by institutional inertia, tokenism, and unresolved tensions between Western and Indigenous paradigms. It is suggested that the genuine integration of Indigenous value systems into social work holds considerable promise not only for improving outcomes for Indigenous populations but also for reinvigorating the broader social work profession in its pursuit of social justice and human dignity.

As the rapid development of AI (Artificial Intelligence), a series of profound ethical issues are illustrated to individuals. The most significant issues are the spread of algorithmic discrimination, and the encroachment of human dignity caused by instrumental rationality. In order to solve these issues, it is urgent for ethics to provide principled guidance. In this paper, I will display that Kantian Ethics, especially its core concept of categorical imperative, can provide irreplaceable formal foundation and critical lens for AI ethics. Through systematically explaining the key concepts of Kantian ethics, which are autonomy, self-legislation, and the principle that humanity is an end in itself. The current AI cannot be considered as a Kantian moral agent, because of its internal heteronomous nature and lack of free will. Based on this argument, this paper further discusses the programs of reconceptualized responsibility in the age of algorithms. Specifically, on the one hand, although AI is not a moral agent, its distributed feature may correspond to a distributed model of responsibility attribution. On the other hand, the formal features of algorithms provide a possibility for transforming the procedural cores of categorical imperative, such as the test of universalizability, into principles of ethical algorithm design. In conclusion, the dialogue between Kantian Ethics and AI is mutually enriching. Kantian ethics not only offers an essential ethical standard for evaluating and regulating AI systems, but also illustrates enduring vitality while facing contemporary technological challenges.

Introduction: In healthcare system, nurses play a critical role in patient care, often working in high-stress environments that demand effective communication and rapid decision-making. Assertiveness and self-esteem are essential personal attributes that influence nurses’ professional performance, and quality of care. Despite their importance, these attributes are often overlooked in nursing professional development hence, the study aimed to assess the level of assertiveness and self-esteem among nurses. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 101 registered nurses working at Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS), Jumla, using a total enumerative sampling technique. From 4th January to 15th January 2026 the data were collected through a self-administered structured questionnaire comprising socio-demographic and professional information, the Simple Rathus Assertiveness Schedule (SRAS), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16 with descriptive statistics and inferential tests (Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test). Results: More than half of the respondents had high levels of assertiveness (50.5%) and self-esteem (51.5%). No statistically significant association was found between assertiveness and socio-demographic or professional characteristics. However, self-esteem showed a statistically significant association with religion (p = 0.027) and professional designation (p = 0.049). Conclusion: The study revealed that nearly half of the nurses exhibited low levels of assertiveness and self-esteem, highlighting a potential area of concern for nursing practice and well-being. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, such as assertiveness training and self-esteem enhancement programs, to strengthen nurses’ communication skills, confidence, and professional effectiveness.

Human rights and social justice remain central issues in contemporary global discourse, often perceived as products of Western modernity. This perception has contributed to ongoing debates regarding their compatibility with religious traditions, particularly Islam. This study examines the Qur’anic foundations of human rights and social justice through a thematic and hermeneutical analysis of classical and contemporary tafsir literature. Employing qualitative library-based research and a tafs?r mawd?‘? approach, the study analyzes key Qur’anic concepts such as the right to life, human dignity, equality, freedom, justice, distributive responsibility, and ecological balance. The findings demonstrate that the Qur’an articulates a comprehensive ethical framework for human rights grounded in divine authority and universal human dignity. Classical exegetes emphasize the normative and legal dimensions of justice, while modern interpreters expand Qur’anic ethics to address pluralism, constitutionalism, welfare state principles, religious moderation, sustainability, and education. Rather than contradicting universal human rights, the Qur’anic worldview provides a moral and spiritual foundation that reinforces justice, inclusivity, and social responsibility. This study contributes to Qur’anic studies and human rights scholarship by highlighting the relevance of Islamic ethical principles in contemporary legal, social, and global sustainability debates. It affirms that Qur’anic interpretation can serve as a constructive partner in advancing an inclusive and equitable human rights discourse.

Advances in human gene editing raise significant ethical questions concerning their compatibility with the Catholic Church's understanding of human dignity. This paper examines the Church's moral evaluation of human gene editing, particularly germline modifications, through its foundational principles of the dignity of the human person, the integrity of human nature as created in the imago Dei, the principle of solidarity, and the moral responsibility to exercise care rather than technological domination over human life. Employing the See-Judge-Act model, the study applies the Catholic moral framework to contemporary developments in gene editing, which are currently directed primarily toward the treatment of genetic diseases. The paper undertakes a doctrinal and hermeneutical analysis to assess whether such interventions respect or compromise inherent human dignity and then makes recommendations for concrete responses to the issue. Given the Catholic Church's global moral influence, clarifying its position helps delineate ethical boundaries between legitimate therapeutic intervention and unacceptable alteration of human nature. The study concludes that a Christian ethical response must take a future-oriented view in medicine, one that anticipates not only present therapeutic uses of gene editing but also emerging biotechnologies aimed at enhancement, redesign, and inheritable modification of the human genome, while firmly rejecting any form of genetic manipulation that transforms medicine from healing the person to engineering human nature itself.

As Catholic schools globally live out their missions to serve students from diverse identities and communities, educational researchers, school leaders, and educators increasingly seek pedagogical approaches that affirm the dignity of their students and support their enactment of justice-oriented practices. Culturally sustaining pedagogy not only reflects the cultures of students but also perpetuates and sustains aspects of students' cultures (Paris 2012). Drawing on Catholic social teaching, educational scholarship, and examples of the enactment of culturally sustaining pedagogy in Catholic schools, I argue that culturally sustaining pedagogy in Catholic education supports Catholic schools to more justly serve culturally and linguistically diverse students and respond to the signs of the times in an increasingly diverse US Catholic population. At a time in the U.S. of increasing resistance to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts including culturally sustaining practices, I assert the ethical imperative to commit to culturally sustaining pedagogies in US Catholic education.

ABSTRACT This paper offers a multidisciplinary critique of nudge theory by drawing on Orthodox Christian theology, Niklas Luhmann’s systems theory, and Martin Heidegger’s phenomenological ontology. While nudges are often defended as libertarian paternalism, guiding decisions without coercion, this analysis questions their ethical legitimacy when applied without transparency. Orthodox theology frames human dignity as realized through voluntary participation in divine life (theosis), a process disrupted by manipulative behaviorist interventions. Systems theory highlights how covert nudges destabilize trust, a structural necessity for communicative coherence in complex societies. Heidegger’s ontology of Being-in-the-world reveals that authentic existence is grounded in relational openness, which nudging subverts by reducing persons to predictable inputs in technocratic systems. Across these frameworks, a shared relational ontology emerges, affirming that ethical agency, spiritual development, and systemic trust all depend on disclosed, participatory engagement. This paper argues that obscured influence undoes the ontological conditions for authenticity and accountability, proposing instead a model of justice-sensitive governance grounded in transparent, dialogical reciprocity that restores ethical agency across spiritual, systemic, and existential dimensions.

This study reconstructs the value of judge's requirements for persons with disabilities through a comparative analysis between the opinions of the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali) and modern positive law, especially related to legal proficiency (ahliyyah). Normative-comparative methods are used to examine classical jurisprudence literature and contemporary legal frameworks in Saudi Arabia as well as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The main findings show that classical jurisprudence emphasizes mental proficiency as the main requirement, while physical disability does not automatically abort the eligibility of a judge. Modern positive law and practices in Saudi Arabia adopt an inclusive approach with reasonable accommodations and technological support. This study proposes a new paradigm based on maqāṣid al-syarī'ah that places justice, human dignity, and welfare as the foundation of judicial requirements reform, as well as introduces an Inclusive Judicial Qualification Framework (IJQF) model that integrates the principles of fiqh, human rights, and institutional accommodation to ensure the participation of persons with disabilities in judicial service in a fair and dignified manner.

The COVID-19 pandemic has redefined the outlines of national and global security, situating health emergencies as a crux within the domain of non-traditional security threats. For India, the pandemic examined the persistence of its healthcare framework and revealed the complicated linkages between human well-being and national governance under the ambit of human security. Unlike traditional security threats that emanate from military or political strife, pandemics appear as intangible, cross-border challenges that undermine societies from within. The outbreak drastically affected India’s socioeconomic fabric. It also put down peculiar trauma on public health institutions and accentuated drawbacks in health infrastructure, policy coordination, and crisis management. Pandemic as a non-traditional threat, featured that security can no longer be confined to territorial defence but must encompass the protection of human lives, livelihoods, and dignity. The concept of human security, which prioritizes human well-being, becomes vital in understanding India’s vulnerabilities and preparedness. The crisis underlines the need for an integrated health emergency policy within the broader framework of national security. Strengthening public health governance, fostering inter-governmental cooperation, and investing in research and technology are essential to building a resilient security architecture. Furthermore, India’s pandemic experience highlights the significance of global cooperation, as no nation can tackle such crises in isolation. Thus, pandemics challenge India to rethink its conventional security paradigm and need to adopt a comprehensive approach where health is recognized as a vital pillar of security. Addressing pandemics as non-traditional security challenges requires not only institutional reforms but also a shift in policy mindset from reactive containment to proactive preparedness rooted in the principles of human security and sustainable governance.

ABSTRACT Purpose To examine the relationship between empathic tendencies, human dignity awareness, and perceptions of migrants among nursing students preparing for roles in community health settings. Design A descriptive correlational research design was employed. Methods The study included 515 nursing students in Southeastern Anatolia Region of Türkiye. Data were collected using validated scales assessing empathy, human dignity, and migrant perception. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA, correlation analyses, and linear regression. Findings: Students demonstrated moderate empathy levels, high human dignity awareness, and moderate perceptions of migrants. Female gender, parental education, and province of residence were significantly associated with differences in empathy and migrant perceptions. Empathy (β = −0.091) and human dignity awareness (β = −0.089) were statistically significant but modest predictors of more positive perceptions toward migrants. Conclusions Empathy and dignity-centered values were statistically significant but modest predictors of nursing students’ attitudes toward migrants. Strengthening these values may support the development of culturally safe, equitable, and human-rights-based nursing practice in community settings. Clinical Relevance Integrating experiential learning, reflective practice, and case-based teaching related to migrant experiences in nursing curricula may enhance transcultural competence and improve the quality of community-based care delivered to diverse populations.

This study explores how the fundamental values of the European Union (EU), namely human rights, freedom, human dignity, the rule of law, democracy, and equality, are addressed in higher education through a bibliometric analysis. Drawing on 321 documents indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection, the study analyses publication trends, assesses the performance of authors, sources, and documents, and examines collaborative and conceptual structures within the field. Conceptually, the study situates EU values pedagogy within the broader literature on values education and citizenship education in higher education. The findings reveal a growing body of research, highlight thematic imbalances, such as the relative underrepresentation of human dignity and the rule of law, and point to limited international collaboration. Through the mapping of this fragmented and multidisciplinary field, the study provides a structured overview of research on democratic education and EU values pedagogy, offering guidance for future scholarly work.

Spirituality is recognized as an essential dimension of comprehensive care and human dignity; however, its integration into clinical practice faces significant barriers due to gaps in academic training. Current literature lacks a synthesis that articulates how these educational deficiencies impact the competencies, values, and challenges perceived by nursing students and professionals. The objective of this study was to map scientific evidence regarding the perception of nursing students, residents, and preceptor nurses concerning spirituality in health care. A scoping review was conducted following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) recommendations, with the protocol registered on the Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RZXVK ). A systematic search was conducted in major databases and gray literature without date or language restrictions. The final sample comprised 35 studies, predominantly conducted in Turkey and Brazil with nursing students. The mapping revealed a dichotomy in education: Although participants demonstrated favorable attitudes and ethical values (compassion, respect), they reported a deficit in theoretical knowledge and technical insecurity. Identified competencies centered on relational skills, such as active listening and therapeutic presence. Challenges to integrating spiritual care were multidimensional, ranging from a lack of academic preparation to organizational and cultural barriers within health services. Nursing education presents structural gaps in addressing spirituality, contributing to professional insecurity. The synthesis of findings indicates that the effective integration of spiritual care depends not only on technical competencies but also on the alignment between personal values and institutional support. The implementation of transversal educational strategies that articulate knowledge, skills, and professional attitudes is recommended to prepare professionals for the challenges of practice.

Situational diagnosis in health is the result of a systematic process of collecting, processing, and analyzing data, representing one of the most important management tools for researching the health conditions and risks of a given population. This study aimed to present the situational diagnosis developed in the Street Clinic (Consultório na Rua (CnR)) of the municipality of Guarujá (SP). This is an observational, documentary study with a qualitative-quantitative approach, carried out in the first semester of 2025. The study was developed in two stages: the first involved data collection regarding institutional, territorial-environmental, demographic, socioeconomic, and epidemiological aspects, obtained from the e-SUS APS, Vigitel, and SISAB systems; the second stage involved data analysis using Excel. The results revealed a significant lack of human resources in the Consultório na Rua (CnR) team for providing healthcare and human rights advocacy. According to reports from the first half of 2025, only 155 patients were registered, revealing the absence of robust health indicators. A lack of structured municipal policies addressing human rights, education, health, and dignity for the homeless population was also observed. It is concluded that the Situational Diagnosis enables the evaluation and implementation of new health actions focused on the Guarujá (SP) Street Clinic, being fundamental for strategic planning and improving the quality of services provided.

The article presents a constitutional‑law understanding of human trafficking, examining it as a systemic violation of human dignity and fundamental rights and, simultaneously, as a threat directed against the value foundations of the constitutional order. Trafficking is analysed not exclusively through criminal‑law categories but within the logic of constitutional protection of human rights, emphasizing that exploitation undermines legal subjectivity by transforming a person into an object of control and ownership. The article advances the thesis that, at the constitutional level, the anti‑trafficking framework is grounded in the inviolability of human dignity, the rule of law, and the interconnection of a number of absolute or reinforced guarantees (personal liberty, prohibition of torture and forced labour, non‑discrimination, and the right to effective judicial protection). The study develops the constitutional dimension of the State’s tripartite structure of positive obligations — to guarantee, to ensure, and to protect — demonstrating that prevention of trafficking, early identification, protection and rehabilitation of victims, as well as effective investigation and inevitability of accountability constitute a unified system of continuous obligations. The article further highlights the interaction between international and constitutional law, particularly the influence of the case‑law of the European Court of Human Rights and the standards established by the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on national legal interpretation. It ultimately proposes an approach according to which the fight against trafficking functions as a benchmark of constitutional governance, reflecting the State’s practical capacity to recognise and manage exploitation risks, reduce vulnerabilities, and secure real and effective protection.