Ethics and Caregiving What are Ethics Ethics are

Ethics and Caregiving

What are Ethics? Ethics are: • Considered the moral standards by which people judge behavior. • Summed up in what is considered the ―golden rule‖—do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

• The norms or standards of behavior people follow concerning what is regarded as good or bad, right or wrong. • A set of principles of right conduct. • A theory or a system of moral values • Rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession

Ethical challenges fall into two perspectives: Subjective Value • Essentially, what we value is subjective. Values are what we choose to pursue & whatever we desire. • Perhaps there is no such thing as good or evil; what you think is good and what you think is evil, is evil. • In other words what you might think is right might be different from what your client may think is right.

Objective Meaning • Essentially, what happens is the action taken as a result of what we value has meaning to the individual. • We may not be able to appreciate the reason or rationale for the decision

Basic Ethical Principles Respect for Persons • Individuals should be treated as autonomous agents • Individuals with diminished autonomy are entitled to protections Beneficence • Do not harm • Maximum possible benefits, and minimize potential harms Justice • Fair distribution of burdens and benefits of research

Why examine ethics & aging? From a practice perspective: • Since people are living longer due in part to advances in medical technology, older adults (families & significant others) are increasingly faced with making ethical decisions. From a policy perspective: • With increased numbers of older adults there is an increased need for social services.

Questions that need discussion • How do we deal with a person’s right to selfdetermination & autonomy? Does a person with dementia have a right to ask for lifesaving treatments? • How do we deal with the social justice issue? If we have limited resources –should we allocate funds to children over an older adult?

Autonomy & self-determination • Do older adults have a right to refuse treatment? Do residents of institutions have a right to privacy? Do persons have a right to community care if nursing home or congregant care is less expensive?

Care & Caregiving

Who are the caregivers? • Most common caregivers are spouses –since women live longer, it often means that women are caregivers to their husbands, but their husbands are less likely to be alive to be the caregiver to the wife. • Women are often the likely candidates to provide care to other women –whether this is formal or informal care.

• Families & women of the families are the likely caregivers & older adults are not likely to be placed in nursing homes, but receive care at home by female relatives.