Theoretical contributions to well-being, absence of well-being, dignity and human vulnerability that are informed by phenomenological philosophy. Drawing on the humanities and the Arts, developments to understand the existential dimensions of illness, existential dimensions of well-being to provide foundations for caring practices that are up to the task of meeting people as human persons. Values-based frameworks for underpinning the focus of care; the capacity for care (personal and professional understandings; delineation of values and strategy for humanising care interventions and for coherently guiding a qualitative research agenda which offers a wide embrace of kinds of knowledge for evidence based practice.