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Chapter 60 - Ethical decision making in the care of the elderly

from Section IV - Principles of care for the elderly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2016

By
G. Kevin Donovan
Edited by
Jan Busby-Whitehead ,
Christine Arenson ,
Samuel C. Durso ,
Daniel Swagerty ,
Laura Mosqueda ,
Maria Fiatarone Singh  and
William Reichel
Jan Busby-Whitehead
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina
Christine Arenson
Affiliation:
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia
Samuel C. Durso
Affiliation:
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Daniel Swagerty
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Laura Mosqueda
Affiliation:
University of Southern California
Maria Fiatarone Singh
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
William Reichel
Affiliation:
Georgetown University, Washington DC
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Summary

General principles of ethics must be applied appropriately in the care of the elderly. Age alone does not determine their application, but specific conditions in the elderly will affect their role as decision-maker, their goals of care, and which actions can be justified on their behalf. Common situations with important ethical dimensions include the disclosure of a diagnosis of dementia, issues in substituted judgment and medical futility, and the provision of nutrition and hydration.
Type
Chapter
Information
Reichel's Care of the Elderly
Clinical Aspects of Aging
 , pp. 797 - 805
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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References

References

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Additional references

Beauchamp, TL and Childress, JF. Principles of Biomedical Ethics, 7th edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 2009, 457 pages.Google Scholar
The President’s Council on Bioethics, Taking Care: Ethical Caregiving in Our Aging Society, Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, September 2005, 309 pages.Google Scholar
Pellegrino, ED. Doctors must not kill, J. of Clin. Ethics 1992: 3(2): 95–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

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