From the concept of Humanitude to a care methodology
Albert Jacquard left us this beautiful concept: "Humanitude is the treasure of insights and emotions, which only exists thanks to us all and which will be lost if we disappear.” It refers to the idea that what we are today results from the contribution of our ancestors, and that in order to continue our process of humanization, to evolve as a species, we need other human beings. It also remembers us that our primary mission on Earth is to benefit from the accumulated treasure and continue to enrich it. This is an ethical imperative for each of us and for those who will come after us. What an immense responsibility!
Yves Gineste and Rosette Marescotti turned this concept into a practical philosophy beyond a relational philosophy. They teach us how we can offer our gaze, our words, and our affective touch, maintain verticality, and transform our caring gestures into the gifts that Jacquard described.
They show us the subtle essence of care that allows patients in a situation of vulnerability or in a process of dementia to feel, despite their losses, a human being among human beings, rather than an outsider, an outcast rejected in the great human family.
The Humanitude (technical-relational) procedures built by Gineste and Marescotti are replicable and applicable in the various areas and contexts of care delivery and lead to the same results. They also teach us to value care, which we easily deliver to unqualified staff, and transform them into very rewarding specialized professional care, such as hygiene care.
They help us, as caregivers, to realize that it is easy to destroy the special features that allow patients to acknowledge themselves as unique human beings, with their own identity, their Humanitude. They teach us to be vigilant, to question ourselves when confronted with human degradation, people in a geriatric limbo. What is my contribution in this situation? What is my responsibility, as a professional collective and a caregiver collective? As a member of an institution? What is the responsibility of the institution and its leaders?
They leave us no room for excuses: lack of material resources, lack of time… what they teach us is a better use of ourselves, to find and use strategies, paradigm shifts, to strive to improve and learn to take advantage of our own tools. What is it worth to have top-of-the-line equipment with a lot of programs if I only know how to use one, two or three?
Humanitude makes us look at ourselves from a different perspective - I am also a person -, at our colleagues. We are people who need each other to grow and evolve professionally. I definitely cannot destroy my health and allow my humanitude to be destroyed or help to destroy my colleagues’ humanitude. It compels us to be vigilant not to fall into processes of symbolic violence which are as devastating as physical violence.
Since 1979, Yves Gineste and Rosette Marescotti have been developing a care methodology entitled Gineste-Marescotti ® care methodology (MGM®) based on the following pillars: gaze, word, touch, and verticality which are operationalized and systematized in order to be replicated in different contexts. This methodology uses relational techniques that are characterized by softness, such as the tender touch, and very subtle specificities, in which technical and relational gestures are inextricably linked, allowing care delivery while preserving the dignity of both patients and caregivers (when we value others, we value ourselves). MGM is transverse to any type of care and is based on national and international scientific evidence.
This methodology of care is being continuously updated, and it has already been implemented in countries such as Canada, France, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal, Japan, and the USA.
In Portugal, the first doctoral program in this area allowed transforming the practical evidence developed by the authors, Gineste and Marescotti, into a care model, a structured sequence of Humanitude caring procedures. The application of this sequence produced similar results to those obtained by the authors, before and after training in action. This doctoral thesis resulted in four scientific articles.
The MGM® started being implemented by IGM Portugal in 2011, and it is currently being implemented in 43 institutions in several areas (education, disability, health, and social) and in various types of care. These institutions are in various stages of implementation (awareness raising, dissemination, consolidation, and certification).
With regard to nursing education, in 2012, the Nursing School of Coimbra (ESEnfC) introduced the concepts of Humanitude and MGM® in the 1st year of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), namely in the course unit of Nursing Fundamentals, in the topic related to hygiene care and comfort.
In 2014, the option “Philosophy of Humanitude applied to nursing practice” was introduced in the BSN. In 2015 and 2016, the option “Caring with Humanitude” was also introduced in the 2nd year of the BSN.
In 2014, the structuring project “Implementation of the Humanitude Care Methodology” was registered in the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing (UICISA:E), with the following associated studies: “Impact of the implementation of the Humanitude Care Methodology in a Long-Term Care Unit” and “Training to care with Humanitude”.
In Portugal, MGM® has been addressed and analyzed in different areas of knowledge.
What Gineste and Marescotti built and offered us are priceless legacies for which we can only offer our immense gratitude.

Nídia Salgueiro

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