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Ethics Of Dementia

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Dementia and The Ethics of Tracking: A Practical Perspective

This Blog and Its Goal

The focus of this blog entry (and indeed my own area of preparation for the seminar) will be electronic tracking. I hope to examine some of the measured benefits of such technology, and address some of the more ethical issues surrounding the topic- particularly the balance between practical benefit and theoretical loss of liberty.

To this end, I intend to use the hypothetical example of my grandpa. My grandpa is indeed living with the early stages of dementia, brought on by Parkinson’s disease. Although not (yet) at the point of requiring electronic tagging, I think by humanizing some of the arguments through him, we may better understand the ethical issues …show more content…

From the position of a carer, I can easily understand the feeling of reassurance and safety provided by knowing my grandpa is at home, in a safe environment. Particularly if his condition were to deteriorate to the point where we were uncomfortable with him leaving home at all without assistance.

However, such close supervision raises ethical questions. As highlighted by the Nuffield Bioethics Council report on dementia, the minimization of risk often becomes the paramount concern in the mind of a carer, at the cost of other factors. Trying to ensure my grandpa is always as safe as possible when dealing with his dementia does not seem unreasonable. This cannot be the only measure of care efficacy however, according to the Nuffield Council. We must try to ensure a correct balance between risk and liberty.

Boundary alarms seem to be focused on the minimization of risk. They are almost punitive in their basic purpose “You leave your house, and I’m telling on you.” Of course this is a gross simplification and when combined with a supportive, enabling care structure, boundary alarms can be useful tools. Nonetheless, I feel that imposing upon my grandpa the idea that he needs my de-facto permission to leave his “boundary” seems to overstep the mark at this stage. Nuffield Councils’ report recommends a mindset of “Risk-Benefit Assessment”, and in my personal view, the majority of early stage dementia sufferers will benefit …show more content…

It helps us shape an overarching ethos of care. It helps me understand when and how I can best support my grandpa as a person, not just as a patient. But I feel these discussions have more impact when they are focused on areas such as consent and understanding. Academic guidance on abstract ideas such as compromised autonomy seems to rarely translate to a practical benefit for carers. It’s all fine and well to tell me I’m reducing grandpa’s autonomy by tracking him, but practically, what is my liberty-ensuring alternative? Better then, to guide carers as to how they can best inform and prepare their dementia suffering family members for the methods we can use in keeping them

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