Ethical Issues in Geriatric Medicine

Introduction This paper presents three artists’ residencies in a geriatric medicine unit in a teaching hospital. The aim of the residencies was creation of new work of high artistic quality reflecting the lived experience of the person with dementia and greater understanding of service user experience of living with dementia. This paper also explores arts-based research methodologies in a medical setting. Method Arts-based research and narrative enquiry were the method used in this study. Artists had extensive access to service users with dementia, family carers and clinical team. Projects were created through collaboration between clinical staff, arts and health director, artist, patients and family carers. Each performance was accompanied by a public seminar discussing dementia. Evaluations were undertaken following each residency. The process of creating artistic responses to dementia is outlined, presented and discussed. Results The artworks were well received with repeat performances and exhibitions requested. Evaluations of each residency indicated increased understanding of dementia. The narratives within the artworks aided learning about dementia. The results are a new chamber music composition, a series of visual artworks created collaboratively between visual artist and patients and family carers and a dance film inspired by a dancer’s residency, all created through narrative enquiry. Discussion and conclusion: These projects support the role of arts-based research as creative process and qualitative research method which contributes to illuminating and exploring the lived experience of dementia. The arts act as a reflective tool for learning and understanding a complex health condition, as well as creating opportunities for increased understanding and public awareness of dementia. Issues arising in arts-based research in medical settings are highlighted, including ethical issues, the importance of service user narrative and multidisciplinary collaboration in arts and health practice and research.

Download Full-text

Fact file 3: Geriatric medicine

10.1093/oso/9780198792079.003.0016 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Daisy Fancourt

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Elderly People ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Geriatric Medicine ◽

Self Care ◽

Health Conditions ◽

Daily Functioning ◽

Medication Usage ◽

Multiple Health

From the Greek ‘γ‎ έ‎ ρ‎ ω‎ ν‎’ (geron) meaning old man, and ‘ι‎ α‎ τ‎ ρ‎ ό‎ ς‎’ (iatros) meaning doctor or healer, geriatric medicine focuses on the health of elderly people. Geriatric medicine includes preventing and treating impairments, such as impaired vision, hearing, memory or intellect, immobility and incontinence, and dealing with increasing health complexities such as multiple health conditions and multi-medication usage. One of the main areas of attention is around dementias including Alzheimer’s disease. The field also encompasses practical and ethical issues around supporting independence, daily functioning. and self-care in elderly people as well as attention on wellbeing and quality of life....

Download Full-text

Confronting the grey zone after severe brain injury

Emerging Topics in Life Sciences ◽

10.1042/etls20190115 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 707-711 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrew Peterson ◽

Adrian M. Owen

Keyword(s):

Brain Injury ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Vegetative State ◽

Clinical Care ◽

Grey Zone ◽

Severe Brain Injury ◽

New Methods ◽

Legal Decision Making ◽

Technological Developments ◽

The Brain

In recent years, rapid technological developments in the field of neuroimaging have provided several new methods for revealing thoughts, actions and intentions based solely on the pattern of activity that is observed in the brain. In specialized centres, these methods are now being employed routinely to assess residual cognition, detect consciousness and even communicate with some behaviorally non-responsive patients who clinically appear to be comatose or in a vegetative state. In this article, we consider some of the ethical issues raised by these developments and the profound implications they have for clinical care, diagnosis, prognosis and medical-legal decision-making after severe brain injury.

Download Full-text

Ethical Issues in Maternal-Fetal Medicine

10.1017/cbo9780511545122 ◽

2002 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Keyword(s):

Ethical Issues ◽

Maternal Fetal Medicine ◽

Fetal Medicine

Download Full-text

Ethical Issues in Nursing: Nutrition of Premature New-borns in Intensive Neonatal Care – Nurses between Care and Autonomy

Pflege ◽

10.1024/1012-5302.14.1.13 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 13-16

Author(s):

Monika Bobbert

Keyword(s):

Ethical Issues ◽

Neonatal Care ◽

Ethische Konflikte ◽

Ethische Probleme

Pflegeethik als relativ neuer Bereich der angewandten Ethik hat unter anderem die Aufgabe, auf ethische Probleme in der pflegerischen Praxis aufmerksam zu machen und diese zu reflektieren. An einem Fallbeispiel wird gezeigt, dass das pflegerische Vorgehen bei der Ernährung von Frühgeborenen ethische Konflikte bergen kann. Am konkreten Fall werden Fragen der Patientenautonomie und Fürsorge diskutiert, die auch für andere pflegerische Situationen relevant sind. Der Artikel leistet einen Beitrag zur Klärung der spezifischen Inhalte einer auf den Handlungsbereich der professionellen Pflege bezogenen Ethik.

Download Full-text

Research Participation Experiences of Informants of Suicide and Control Cases

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000025 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 238-246 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Paul W. C. Wong ◽

Wincy S. C. Chan ◽

Philip S. L. Beh ◽

Fiona W. S. Yau ◽

Paul S. F. Yip ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ethical Issues ◽

Research Participation ◽

Self Report ◽

Initial Contact ◽

Psychological Autopsy ◽

Autopsy Study ◽

The People ◽

And Control ◽

The Impact

Background: Ethical issues have been raised about using the psychological autopsy approach in the study of suicide. The impact on informants of control cases who participated in case-control psychological autopsy studies has not been investigated. Aims: (1) To investigate whether informants of suicide cases recruited by two approaches (coroners’ court and public mortuaries) respond differently to the initial contact by the research team. (2) To explore the reactions, reasons for participation, and comments of both the informants of suicide and control cases to psychological autopsy interviews. (3) To investigate the impact of the interviews on informants of suicide cases about a month after the interviews. Methods: A self-report questionnaire was used for the informants of both suicide and control cases. Telephone follow-up interviews were conducted with the informants of suicide cases. Results: The majority of the informants of suicide cases, regardless of the initial route of contact, as well as the control cases were positive about being approached to take part in the study. A minority of informants of suicide and control cases found the experience of talking about their family member to be more upsetting than expected. The telephone follow-up interviews showed that none of the informants of suicide cases reported being distressed by the psychological autopsy interviews. Limitations: The acceptance rate for our original psychological autopsy study was modest. Conclusions: The findings of this study are useful for future participants and researchers in measuring the potential benefits and risks of participating in similar sensitive research. Psychological autopsy interviews may be utilized as an active engagement approach to reach out to the people bereaved by suicide, especially in places where the postvention work is underdeveloped.

Download Full-text

Ethical Issues Relevant to the Assessment of Suicide Risk in Nonclinical Research Settings

Crisis ◽

10.1027/0227-5910/a000110 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 54-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Carolyn M. Wilson ◽

Bruce K. Christensen

Keyword(s):

Undergraduate Students ◽

Suicide Risk ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Current Paper ◽

Self Report ◽

Ethical Guidelines ◽

Schizotypal Personality ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Genetic Features ◽

Conducting Research

Background: Our laboratory recently confronted this issue while conducting research with undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo (UW). Although our main objective was to examine cognitive and genetic features of individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD), the study protocol also entailed the completion of various self-report measures to identify participants deemed at increased risk for suicide. Aims and Methods: This paper seeks to review and discuss the relevant ethical guidelines and legislation that bear upon a psychologist’s obligation to further assess and intervene when research participants reveal that they are at increased risk for suicide. Results and Conclusions: In the current paper we argue that psychologists are ethically impelled to assess and appropriately intervene in cases of suicide risk, even when such risk is revealed within a research context. We also discuss how any such obligation may potentially be modulated by the research participant’s expectations of the role of a psychologist, within such a context. Although the focus of the current paper is on the ethical obligations of psychologists, specifically those practicing within Canada, the relevance of this paper extends to all regulated health professionals conducting research in nonclinical settings.

Download Full-text