scholarly journals The concept of social dignity as a yardstick to delimit ethical use of robotic assistance in the care of older persons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Andrea Felber ◽  
Félix Pageau ◽  
Athena McLean ◽  
Tenzin Wangmo
Keyword(s):  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Other ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Robotic Assistance ◽  
Ethical Concerns

AbstractWith robots being introduced into caregiving, particularly for older persons, various ethical concerns are raised. Among them is the fear of replacing human caregiving. While ethical concepts like well-being, autonomy, and capabilities are often used to discuss these concerns, this paper brings forth the concept of social dignity to further develop guidelines concerning the use of robots in caregiving. By social dignity, we mean that a person’s perceived dignity changes in response to certain interactions and experiences with other persons. In this paper, we will first present the concept of social dignity, and then identify a niche where robots can be used in caregiving in an ethical manner. Specifically, we will argue that, because some activities of daily living are performed in solitude to maintain dignity, a care recipient will usually prefer robotic assistance instead of human assistance for these activities. Secondly, we will describe how other philosophical concepts, which have been commonly used to judge robotic assistance in caregiving for the elderly so far, such as well-being, autonomy, and capabilities, are less useful in determining whether robotic assistance in caregiving is ethically problematic or not. To conclude, we will argue that social dignity offers an advantage to the other concepts, as it allows to ask the most pressing questions in caregiving.

Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Richard Schweid
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Home Health Care ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Current System ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Home Health ◽  
Turnover Rates

This introductory chapter provides an overview of home health care in the United States. Most Americans over sixty-five want to grow old at home, but the reality is that to do so, the majority of them will eventually need someone to help with what are called activities of daily living, those things basic to maintaining life, like eating, bathing, and using the toilet, and with the instrumental activities of daily living, such as cooking and cleaning. The millions of women employed as aides to help the elderly with these tasks in the United States are treated as menial laborers, paid minimum wage, often with no benefits, although the job they are doing is critically important to both our personal well-being and that of society as a whole. Given the low pay and stressful work, it is not surprising that home health aides have one of the highest turnover rates of any job. This book then analyzes what is wrong in the current system of providing home care to the elderly and how those deficiencies might be remedied.

scholarly journals Disability relating to instrumental activities of daily living in the elderly with rheumatic diseases

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 570-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priscila Maria Stolses Bergamo Francisco ◽  
Priscila de Paula Marques ◽  
Flávia Silva Arbex Borim ◽  
Sarina Francescato Torres ◽  
Anita Liberalesso Neri
Keyword(s):  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Functional Disability ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Elderly Persons ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sociodemographic Variables ◽  
Instrumental Activities

Abstract Objective: to characterize the sociodemographic profile of elderly persons with arthritis/rheumatism in relation to gender, as well as to estimate the prevalence and factors associated with functional disability for the performance of instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Method: a cross-sectional population-based study with a sample of 1,136 elderly persons (≥65 years old) from seven Brazilian municipal regions was carried out. Functional capacity was assessed by the self-reports of the elderly in terms of the performance of IADL, using the Lawton Scale. Differences between the genders, according to sociodemographic variables, were verified by the chi-squared test (p<0.05). The prevalence of inability to perform IADL was calculated and the independent associations were verified through multiple logistic regression. Results: the mean age was 72.4 years, 79.1% of the sample were women, and 45.9% of the elderly with arthritis/rheumatism were dependent for the performance of IADL. Differences were observed between the genders in relation to age, marital status, income and household arrangements (p<0.05). A higher prevalence of disability was observed among older elderly persons, those with no schooling and lower incomes, who lived in multigenerational households and who were frail. In the evaluation of the performance of specific activities, elderly persons with arthritis/rheumatism had greater difficulty taking medication (OR: 1,90; CI 95%: 1.19 - 3.06), after adjusting for gender and age. Conclusion: associations were found between functional disability and sociodemographic variables and frailty. Independence in daily activities such as those evaluated in this study is one of the primary conditions for the well-being of the elderly, even in conditions of frailty or chronic diseases.

scholarly journals Comparison of cognitive performance and aspects of the care context in elderly caregivers in Brazil: A follow-up study

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Carolina Ottaviani ◽  
Allan Gustavo Bregola ◽  
Mariélli Terassi ◽  
Bruna Moretti Luchesi ◽  
Érica Nestor Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Elderly Care ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Continuous Variables ◽  
Investigation Methods ◽  
Elderly Caregivers

ABSTRACT. Cognitive health is important for the quality of life and well-being of elderly caregivers. Cognitive impairments can negatively affect the ability to care for oneself and others. Objective: To compare cognitive performance and aspects of the care context in elderly caregivers of older adults in a three-year follow-up investigation Methods: A longitudinal study was conducted of 61 elderly caregivers treated in primary care in a city in the interior of the state of São Paulo with data collected in 2014 and 2017. Sociodemographic characteristics, the care context, cognition, performance for activities of daily living, burden and depressive symptoms were collected in individual interviews. Data analysis was performed to compare categorical and continuous variables. Results: Significant increases were found between baseline and follow-up for the language domain score of the cognitive evaluation (p=0.024), receipt of material support (p=0.020), time providing care (p=0.045) and dependence of elderly care recipient for basic activities of daily living (p=0.042). Conclusion: Elderly caregivers performed better on the domain of language, received more material/financial support, spent more time on care and reported greater dependence of the elderly care recipient.

scholarly journals Association of self-perceived income sufficiency with cognitive impairment among older adults: a population-based study in India

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Muhammad ◽  
Shobhit Srivastava ◽  
T. V. Sekher
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Psychological Health ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Basic Needs ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Asset Ownership ◽  
Increased Risk

Abstract Background Greater cognitive performance has been shown to be associated with better mental and physical health and lower mortality. The present study contributes to the existing literature on the linkages of self-perceived income sufficiency and cognitive impairment. Study also provides additional insights on other socioeconomic and health-related variables that are associated with cognitive impairment in older ages. Methods Data for this study is derived from the 'Building Knowledge Base on Population Ageing in India'. The final sample size for the analysis after removing missing cases was 9176 older adults. Descriptive along with bivariate analyses were presented to show the plausible associations of cognitive impairment with potential risk factors using the chi-square test. Also, binary logistic regression analysis was performed to provide the relationship between cognitive impairment and risk factors. The software used was STATA 14. Results About 43% of older adults reported that they had no source of income and 7.2% had income but not sufficient to fulfil their basic needs. Older adults with income but partially sufficient to fulfil their basic needs had 39% significantly higher likelihood to suffer from cognitive impairment than older adults who had sufficient income [OR: 1.39; OR: 1.21–1.59]. Likelihood of cognitive impairment was low among older adults with asset ownership than older adults with no asset ownership [OR: 0.83; CI: 0.72–0.95]. Again, older adults who work by compulsion (73.3%) or felt mental or physical stress due to work (57.6%) had highest percentage of cognitive impairment. Moreover, older adults with poor self-rated health, low instrumental activities of daily living, low activities of daily living, low subjective well-being and low psychological health were at increased risk for cognitive impairment. Conclusion The study highlights the pressing need for care and support and especially financial incentives in the old age to preserve cognitive health. Further, while planning geriatric health care for older adults in India, priority must be given to financially backward, with no asset ownership, with poor health status, older-older, widowed, and illiterate older individuals, as they are more vulnerable to cognitive impairment.

scholarly journals Effects of Dance Therapy on Balance and Risk of Falls in Older Persons

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 234-235
Author(s):  
Esha Chakravarty ◽  
Indrani Chakravarty ◽  
Ipsito Chakravarty ◽  
Prasenjit Bhattacharjee
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Activities Of Daily Living ◽  
Day Care ◽  
Dance Therapy ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Risk Of Falls ◽  
Day Care Centres ◽  
Therapy Sessions

Abstract Loss of balance and risk of falls is a major problem in older persons. Literature shows increasing use of yoga practices and dance therapy across Indian oldage homes and day care centres to improve balance and reduce risk of falls in older persons. Aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of dance therapy with focus on therapeutic movements derived from Indian classical dances on balance and risk of falls in older adults of Day Care Centres in Calcutta Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India. Total of 24 older adults across 2 day care centres participated in the study attending dance therapy sessions for 3 months. All of them self reported problems of balance and repeated falls alongwith difficulties in performing Activities of Daily Living. Twenty one of them were females and 3 males. The mean age of the participants was 75.5 years. Limits of Stabililty (LOS) was used to measure balance and pre tests and post tests were performed. Results showed that the Limits of Stability were significantly higher (17.5%) in older persons after participating in the dance therapy sessions. This study supports that dance therapy using movements derived from Indian classical dance forms can support older persons to function with reduced risk of falls, improved balance, safely carry out mobility tasks and perform better Activities of Daily Living . Further studies can show how dance therapy can facilitate healthy ageing and influence State policies on healthy ageing.

scholarly journals Sex with robots: A not-so-niche market for disabled and older persons

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 228-232
Author(s):  
Adamantios Koumpis ◽  
Thomas Gees
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Older People ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Deep Roots ◽  
Value System ◽  
Sex Robots ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Sex Toys

AbstractIn this article, we present our experiences from research into the healthy ageing and well-being of older people and we report on our personal opinions of robots that may help the elderly to have sex and to cope with isolation and loneliness. However, and while there is a growing industry for sex robots and other sex toys and gadgets, there is also a growing concern about the ethics of such an industry. As is the case with pornography, the concept of sex robots may be criticized, yet it has deep roots in human civilization, with erotic depictions that date back to the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Ages. So the need for an artefact that would offer sexually relevant functionality is not new at all. But what might be new and worrying is the potential for using artificial intelligence in sex robots in ways that might cause a repositioning of our entire value system. Such a threat is not related to the proliferation of sex robots per se but to the use of robots in general and in a variety of other fields of application.

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