Ethics and the Elderly

by Wicclair, Mark R.

• ISBN13: 9780195053159
• ISBN10: 019505315X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1993-09-16
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

With the increasing growth of the elderly population, geriatric care is becoming eminently important not only to medical professionals but also to all those involved in caring for the elderly including social workers, nursing home staff, and relatives. This timely work confronts in a clear and systematic fashion the many ethical issues concerning care for the elderly. For instance, what is sound ethical decision-making in relation to life-sustaining medical treatment for elderly patients? At a time when aging of the population is increasing the demand for health care, is age-rationing a justified means of cost control? How can investigators satisfy ethical requirements in relation to medical or social-scientific research with elderly subjects, and what special precautions are needed when elderly persons are ill, demented, dependent on social services, and/or institutionalized? What are the responsibilities of adult children toward frail elderly parents? How can professionals and relatives determine whether paternalism toward an elderly person is ethically justified? In an accessible way, this book explains the ethical and conceptual issues at stake. Several specific examples are also presented and each chapter ends with an extensive case study and analysis. This timely work will be a valuable resource for all those involved in geriatric care and to many in the field of bioethics.

Author Biography

Mark R. Wicclair, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Associate Director of the Center for Health Ethics and Law at West Virginia University. At the University of Pittsburgh, he is Visiting Professor of Medicine and History and Philosophy of Science, and Associate of the Center for Medical Ethics.

Table of Contents

Life-Sustaining Medical Care: Elderly Patients with Decision-MakingCapabilities

Life-Sustaining Medical Care: Elderly Patients without Decision-MakingCapabilities

Age-Rationing, Ageism, and Justice

Paternalism and the Elderly

Research with Elderly Subjects

Caring for Frail Elderly Patients: The Obligation of Adult Children

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