Public municipal health policy and Human Dignity: fostering new normative expressions

As the role of the (local) government is increasingly changing from supporting to facilitating, it is becoming increasingly important to treat both citizens’ health and dignity seriously. Accordingly, the City of Utrecht is not only dedicated to positive health but has also included human dignity as an important pillar of its health policy. At the same time, however, it is not entirely clear what human dignity means, exactly, and what it implies for policy-making with respect to health.

This research project aimed to understand what dignity means for people with multiple problems, with the goal of reducing health disparities. The researchers applied a care-ethical conception of dignity, and the study combined conceptual approaches with the practical work field.