Table 4.

Essential elements of prison hospice: Shared values

Shared Values
Concepts in Context	Definition and Dimensions	Exemplary Quote
Empathy and compassion	Witnessing, experiencing and responding to the pain and suffering of others; the idea of putting oneself in others' shoes; a desire to help make things better.	“They're taken away from everything else... I always think about, would I want to be alone? Would I want to just be laying in poo or pee? No. They deserve the dignity. It doesn't matter that they killed somebody else to get here.” (Nurse)
Principled action	Doing the right things for the right reasons, having legitimate motivation for providing hospice care for all involved; authentic compassion and care for fellow prisoners; the desire to give back to the community; taking care of others as one would want to be cared for themselves.	“Whatever [the patient] need, you give it to him. And you don't ask for nothing in return. I mean, you don't do it for publicity or to be seen, but you do it because you love that man and you care about him.” (Volunteer)
Community responsibility	A sense of belonging to and participating in something bigger than any one individual or groups. Includes: stepping up and taking action; a willingness to be a leader and work through issues and problems; not abandoning worthy projects when things become complicated.	“Because we all work together and conquer the problem, they have something that needs to be done, we don't cry about it or... ‘You're supposed to do this, you're supposed to do that.’ We just get in and do it, it needs to be done it gets done.” (Volunteer)
Respect	Holding others in a positive regard that was both earned through trust and dependability. The idea that each role involved in the hospice program brings something unique and necessary to the daily delivery and management of the program; having respect for others performing their roles, and for those with whom they interact to make the hospice unit function.	“You have to give people the opportunity to demonstrate that they can be trusted. Proper training, the wardens, the support staff, letting us try different things...I think trust is a big part of it. Giving [volunteers] the opportunity to prove themselves, and to work with us.” (Nurse)