Maintenance and promotion of patient dignity is an ethical responsibility of healthcare workers. The aim of this study was to investigate patient dignity and related factors in patients with heart failure. In this qualitative study, 22 patients with heart failure were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. Factors related to patient dignity were divided into two main categories: patient/care index and resources. Intrapersonal features (inherent characteristics and individual beliefs) and interpersonal interactions (communication, respect, enough information, privacy, and authority) were classified as components of the patient/care index category. Human resources (management and staff) and environmental resources (facilities and physical space) were classified as components of the resources category. The results will increase healthcare staff's understanding of patient dignity and its related factors, and provide information regarding the development of systems and processes that support patients in ways that are consistent with these values.

According to the results, the necessity of using appropriate tools to assess various aspects of patients' dignity by clinical healthcare staff and design activities with particular focus on the main factors affecting dignity such as illness related worries and social dignity is recommended. Attention to this issue in everyday clinical practice can facilitate health professionals/nurses to potentially improve their patients' dignity, develop quality of care and treatment, and improve patients' satisfaction.

Background:Residency is one of the most critical periods of medical education. Residents are susceptible in high risk for mental problems which can affect the doctor–patient relationship. Emotional intelligence (EI) correlates closely with stress and mental health. Considering the important role of EI in medical education and with regard to lack of studies in this group in Iran, this study conducted to determine the relationship between EI and stress, anxiety, and depression in a sample of resident physician in our university of medical sciences.Materials and Methods:In this cross-sectional study, 245 residents were invited, but only100 questionnaires were analyzed, and the response rate was 41%. From this, 26 were men and 74 were women. Bar-on EI questionnaire, Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21, for evaluating the stress, anxiety, and depression and demographic characteristics were used.Results:The mean score of EI in resident physician was 330.24 ± 38.5. The mean score of stress, anxiety, and depression was 17.8 ± 8.6, 10.04 ± 7.99, and 10.49 ± 8.67 respectively. There was a negative relation between mean score of anxiety (R = −0.0525), stress (R = −0.639), and depression (R = −0.644) with a mean score of EI.Conclusion:Higher EI appears to be good predictors of lower stress, anxiety, and depression in resident physician.

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