Basic human values, responsiveness, and dignity in geriatric organizations in Israel: A qualitative study of state...

Patient dignity is a foundational principle in geriatric care, yet how health regulations conceptualize and promote dignity for elderly patients remains underexplored. Israel offers a particularly instructive case given its universal healthcare system serving a diverse aging population.

This study examines how Israeli state health regulations promote patient dignity and responsiveness in geriatric hospitals, and analyzes these regulatory provisions through the lens of Schwartz's refined theory of basic human values.

We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 150 regulatory documents issued by Israel's Ministry of Health between 2009 and the present. Coding proceeded inductively using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019), with AI-assisted software supporting coding identification and organization. Themes and sub-themes were subsequently mapped onto Schwartz's value framework through a theory-informed process.

Four core dignity-related themes were identified: ethical treatment, patient-centered care, safety and comfort, and end-of-life care. Each theme was systematically mapped onto Schwartz's value dimensions: ethical treatment aligning with conformity and security; patient-centered care with self-direction and benevolence; safety and comfort with security, universalism-concern, and hedonism; and end-of-life care with universalism-concern, and self-direction.

Schwartz's value framework offers an analytically productive lens for understanding how organizational regulations encode and enact human values in geriatric care. The findings point to concrete policy implications: regulations should be understood not merely as procedural tools but as value-oriented instruments that shape the moral culture of care organizations. Future research should examine how these regulatory values translate into actual clinical practice.