Ethical challenges in geriatric care

Abstract

The growth of the elderly population presents numerous challenges to the practicing otolaryngologist. This commentary reviews some of the issues that come up in dealing with geriatric patients, reiterates some classic ethical principles, and looks to some philosophers who have addressed relevant issues over the past centuries. It is based on a presentation "Ethical Challenges in Geriatric Otolaryngology," delivered at the annual meeting of the American Society of Geriatric Otolaryngology on April 30, 2008.

Ethical problems in geriatrics: Views of Turkish primary healthcare professionals

“…(KMO 0.88, Bartlett's test of sphericity 1090.562, P = 0.001). Factor 1, "age discrimination", consisted of eight items (17,20,19,18,14,15,16,13); the minimum item/factor correlation was 0.601. Factor 2 "not to respect to elderly patients' autonomy and privacy", consisted of five items (12,8,11,9,10); the minimum item/factor correlation was 0.541.…”

“…13,14 Also, the problem of elderly patients' autonomy is investigated in some studies both about the patients themselves and health professionals providing care for these patients. [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] At the top of importance rating list (see Table 1), there was the item of "ignoring respect for privacy during medical procedures and meeting care needs", and this ethical issue was 11th on the encountering list. The high importance level of this issue might indicate that primary healthcare professionals strongly internalize the right for privacy.…”

“…Evaluating patients' decision‐making capability and its encountering frequency as an ethical problem is a challenging subject studied by physicians working in different countries . Also, the problem of elderly patients' autonomy is investigated in some studies both about the patients themselves and health professionals providing care for these patients …”