The Ethical And Legal Issues

Autonomy refers to an individual’s right to self- rule or governs one’s self (Beauchamp Childress, 2009). Autonomy is refer to the individual right to make his or her own decision regarding their health care needs. This is respected in the health care setting.

Autonomy is the agreement to respect another’s right to self-determine a course of action such as support of independent decision making. The patient self-determination act was passed by the United states in 1990 which stated that competent people could make their wishes known regarding how they what they wanted in the end of life if they were competent or have a power of durable power of attorney who is designated to make decision on their behalf when the individual is no longer competent (American Nurses Association, 2009).

Shadow charts were developed to gather data and information for additional departments and medical personnel that need access to part of a patient’s file or records. The original records should always remain in the patient’s primary chart allow copies may be available to ancillary departments that may need access to the information. The same level of confidentiality and security applies to the shadow charts. They must be in a secure location with access by authorized personnel only. Additional information that should be included in shadow charts is a formal recording process to document those who access the information. Furthermore, a consistent system of upgrading the

As stated in Joseph A. Carrese’s article “Refusal of Care: Patient’s Well-Being and Physicians’ Ethical Obligations,” introduces the fundamental principles and responsibilities that physicians have in order to preserve the welfare of their patients in any circumstances. On the other hand, Debbie Dempsey, author of “Refusing Treatment: Practical, Legal, and Ethical Issues,” strongly supports the patient’s right to make their own medical choices, whether it be to accept or decline any help. W.D Ross solidifies the dependent yet incompetent patient to not refuse care and treatment because the physician has a duty of fidelity, beneficence and a duty to

With the advances in medical care, better health practices, improved nutrition, and other factors help people live longer. As long as older adults are following the correct measures, they can help counter the effects of aging because this stage here most people retire, they need to stay active and keep eating healthy foods. By not living actively can lead to his or her body shutting down, and may also lead to an early death. Many programs are available that older adults can join to

Autonomy explores the idea of every person having rights in regards to healthcare and decision making. “Autonomy is an agreement to respect another’s right to self-determine a course of action and support independent decision making” (Beauchamp & Childress, 2009). In 1990, the ideas of autonomy lead to the Patient Self Determination Act which allows competent people to make their wishes known about end of life. The act includes living wills and health care power of attorneys, which deals with end of

Aging is a universal phenomenon and humans are no exception. Gerontology deals with the psychological, social and biological aspects of aging process. A recent study shows that people aged 85 years and older are expected to augment from 5.3 million people to 21 million as the world reach 2050. In today’s world Gerontology has an enormous role to play so that the senior citizens could be analyzed and their needs may be addressed with compassion and empathy.

Obviously, there are some inevitable biological and psychological changes that occur with aging, and because of those changes, older adult may face some challenges. However, ‘aging’ by itself should not be considered as a’ failure or ‘ decline’. Older people can continue living the way they used to and at

The AAL concerns and developments are in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) active ageing framework [7]. Active ageing emphasizes an enabling positive thinking. While a disabling perspective leads to isolation and dependence and increases the needs of older people, an enabling view focuses on maintaining the older adult’s functions and expanding their participation in all aspects of the society.

For the purposes of this paper the elderly, who may hereafter be referred to as seniors, senior citizens, and/or older adults is defined as persons over the age of 65. Senior citizens are one of the fastest growing populations in both the United States and Canada. It has been projected that the population of senior citizens in the U.S. will double by 2026. This population is by no means homogenous and, for the purpose of studies, is sometimes broken down into groups referred to as the “young old,” those 65-69, the “middle old,” those 70-79 and the “very old” or “old old,” those 80 and older. This is not the case with all studies but is the most common method of stratifying this population.

As individuals age changes occur physiologically that are part of normal aging. These changes occur in all organ systems and can impact an individual’s quality of life. The changes related to aging can be attributed to an individual’s genetic make up, lifestyle, physical activity, and dietary lifestyle. Being able to differentiate between normal changes in aging against disease process is important because it can help clinicians develop a plan of care (Boltz, Capezuti, Fulmer, & Zwicker, 2012). Creating an accurate plan of care for older adults will greatly impact their quality of life.

“The active ageing approach is based on the recognition of the human rights of older people and the United Nations Principles of independence, participation, dignity, care and self-fulfillment.” It moves from the assumption that older people are passive (a “needs-based” approach) to the idea that people should be afforded equality in all areas as they age (a “rights-based” approach) (“Active Ageing: A Policy Framework,” 2002, p.

As people age they develop many special needs related to the later period of life. Many elderly people have specific physical needs where adaptations to their home are necessary or where they need specific equipment for self care. Old age also brings new emotional challenges for the elderly person when the family can be useful in helping to meet the persons mental health needs. Senior citizens experience needs in their social life; they also experience the need for activities with other seniors. Health needs also negatively affect the elderly and cause multiple physical problems. Every elderly person experiences needs that are related to each of these areas.

If LeBlanc orders the t-shirts from China she knows that it has low wages, rigorous work schedules, poor safety regulations, and a lack of worker’s compensation and benefits for its employees. After all, she had witnessed firsthand similar conditions when she visited a Bulgarian clothing factory while with the University of Virginia. She also had to think about the global recession, and how it would make the company look by outsourcing for cheaper t-shirts instead of supporting U.S. companies. However, if she orders the t-shirts from the San Francisco company, which she had worked with in the past, she knows good working conditions exist for the employees there. Also, even though the t-shirts were more expensive they were made of good quality, fair-trade, organic, and eco-friendly.

Mrs. M’s new Physician who has only seen her twice has the opinion that she needs to be in a long-term care facility. Mrs. M recently fell and was admitted to the hospital, the Physician believes that due to her age, her health will continue to decline. The Physician contacted the community health nurse and “ordered” her to tell Mrs. M. that she should see her home and move into a long-term care facility. Mrs. M was upset and did not agree with this decision. The principle of autonomy applied, “the right to choose what will happen to oneself as well as the accountability for making individual choices” (Guido, 2015). Most elderly peoples biggest fear is giving up their home and independence. If a person is mentally competent, no one can