Short answer
Designers should adopt a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, co-creating solutions with residents, staff, and families to ensure dignity is a central consideration in long-term care environments.
- Field
- User-Centred Design
- Source
- Healthcare (2025)
- Method
- Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Dignity for older adults in long-term care is a complex interplay between institutional environments, care practices, and family engagement, best understood through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach. This user-centred design research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Healthcare. Using Systematic review of qualitative evidence, researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: Designers should adopt a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, co-creating solutions with residents, staff, and families to ensure dignity is a central consideration in long-term care environments.
Triangular Model of Dignity: A Framework for Person-Centered Care in Long-Term Facilities
Dignity for older adults in long-term care is a complex interplay between institutional environments, care practices, and family engagement, best understood through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach.
Healthcare · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Residents' perspectives on dignity are shaped by institutionalization and their resilience in preserving it.
- 02Staff experiences highlight the impact of understaffing, workload, and the importance of person-centered care approaches.
- 03Relatives express unease regarding indignity and hold ethical expectations for a caring culture.
- 04A triangular model involving residents, staff, and relatives collaboratively sustains dignity.
Application
Design takeaway
Designers should adopt a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, co-creating solutions with residents, staff, and families to ensure dignity is a central consideration in long-term care environments.
How to apply
When designing services, environments, or technologies for long-term care facilities, actively engage residents, their families, and care staff in the research and design process to understand and address their diverse needs and perceptions of dignity.
Project actions
- 01When researching user needs, consider interviewing or observing not just the primary user but also those who support them (e.g., caregivers, family members).
- 02Develop a framework or model that visually represents the relationships and influences between different user groups and the design outcome.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Comprehensive synthesis of qualitative data from multiple stakeholder perspectives.
- +Development of a novel conceptual model (triangular model) to guide future interventions and policy.
- +Adherence to systematic review guidelines (PRISMA).
Limitations
It can be challenging to gain access to all stakeholder groups (residents, staff, and relatives) for research, and their perspectives might be influenced by their roles and relationships within the facility.
Reliability & validity
The reliability of the findings is strengthened by the systematic review process and thematic synthesis, which aim for rigorous data analysis. Validity is supported by the inclusion of multiple stakeholder perspectives and the comparison across these groups. However, as a qualitative synthesis, generalizability to all long-term care settings may be limited.
Think critically
How might the 'triangular model' of dignity be adapted for design projects in contexts other than long-term care facilities, such as schools or workplaces?
Design Principles
"Design for dignity by integrating the perspectives and needs of all key stakeholders within an institutional context."
This research highlights that designing for dignity requires moving beyond a single perspective. By considering the experiences and expectations of residents, staff, and relatives, designers can create more holistic and effective solutions that truly support the well-being of older adults in institutional settings.
What This Means for Your Design
To make sure older people feel respected in care homes, we need to think about what the older people themselves want, what the nurses and carers can realistically do, and what the families expect. When all three groups work together, it helps the older person keep their dignity.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use the 'triangular model' concept to justify the inclusion of multiple user groups in your research and design process, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the design context.
- 2.Cite this research to support the importance of considering institutional factors (like staffing) and family involvement when designing for user well-being.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
The dignity of older adults in long-term care is not solely dependent on individual care but is intricately woven through the interactions of residents, care staff, and family members, as highlighted by Xue et al. (2025). Their proposed 'triangular model' emphasizes that effective design for dignity must acknowledge and integrate the distinct yet interconnected perspectives of these groups, addressing institutional conditions, caregiving practices, and family involvement to foster a truly person-centered environment.
Source
Healthcare
Dignity of Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities: A Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence from Residents, Staff, and Relatives
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about triangular model of dignity: a framework for person-centered care in long-term facilities?
- Designers should adopt a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, co-creating solutions with residents, staff, and families to ensure dignity is a central consideration in long-term care environments. Evidence: Healthcare (2025).
- Why does "Triangular Model of Dignity: A Framework for Person-Centered Care in Long-Term Facilities" matter for design?
- This research highlights that designing for dignity requires moving beyond a single perspective. By considering the experiences and expectations of residents, staff, and relatives, designers can create more holistic and effective solutions that truly support the well-being of older adults in institutional settings.
- How can designers apply this research?
- Designers should adopt a holistic, multi-stakeholder approach, co-creating solutions with residents, staff, and families to ensure dignity is a central consideration in long-term care environments.
- What were the main findings?
- Residents' perspectives on dignity are shaped by institutionalization and their resilience in preserving it.. Staff experiences highlight the impact of understaffing, workload, and the importance of person-centered care approaches.. Relatives express unease regarding indignity and hold ethical expectations for a caring culture.. A triangular model involving residents, staff, and relatives collaboratively sustains dignity.
- What research method was used?
- Systematic Review of Qualitative Evidence.
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Healthcare.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When designing services, environments, or technologies for long-term care facilities, actively engage residents, their families, and care staff in the research and design process to understand and address their diverse needs and perceptions of dignity.
- What are the limitations?
- The review focused on qualitative studies, and the findings may be influenced by the specific cultural contexts of the included studies. The 'triangular model' is a conceptual synthesis and requires further empirical validation.