Ethical Issues in Dementia Care: Making Difficult Decisions

by Julian C. Hughes, Clive Baldwin

Overview

Bradford Dementia Group Good Practice Guides

There are always difficult day to day decisions to be faced when caring for a person with dementia - from knowing how to deal with wandering to end of life decisions. Many of these decisions are underpinned by value judgments about right and wrong and reflect a particular view of dementia. This book considers these ethical decisions in the context of relationships, treatment, safety and quality of life, offering practical guidance and advice. It draws on the experiences of family carers as well as on existing research and emphasizes the importance of empathy and the need to acknowledge different perspectives in order to reach the best decision for the person with dementia. In particular the authors discuss the way that decision makers are themselves changed by the decisions they make, and the impact of this on the decision-making process. This book should be read by all those who work caring for people with dementia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781843103578
Publisher:	Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Publication date:	09/15/2006
Series:	University of Bradford Dementia Good Practice Guides , #8
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	5.47(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Julian C. Hughes is a consultant in Old Age Psychiatry at North Tyneside General Hospital and an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Institute for Ageing and Health at the University of Newcastle, UK. He is currently the Chair of the Philosophy Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He also held a short-term Fellowship in 2003 from the Wellcome Trust to consider quality of life in dementia.

Clive Baldwin is Senior Lecturer at Bradford Dementia Group, University of Bradford, UK. He is a member of the Christian Council on Aging Dementia Group and maintains his interest in the voluntary sector through fundraising and consultancy work. Both authors were involved in research at Ethox (University of Oxford) into ethical issues for family carers of people with dementia.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements. Preface. 1. Making moral decisions: from consequences, duties and principles to conscience. 2. Being true: relationships, empathic understanding and communication. 3. Concerned to treat. 4. Keeping them safe. 5. It's the quality that counts, but how do we decide? 6. Making decisions in practice. References. Index.

Editorial Reviews

The authors of this worthy book state that the aim is "to help carers of people with dementia...non-family, formal carers" (p.9). They take guidance from researh (Alzheimer's society) with family carers and I have no doubt that this book would be of comfort to these such carers too... Anyone invloved with a person woth dementia becomes more expert in ethical issues.

Dementia Journal

The book is written in an accessible style, with plenty of case examples to bring life to the issue. This book is recommended for all professionals who care for these individuals, as it helps to redress the balance of the heart of caring with the technical aspects of caring.

Clinical Psychology Forum

As I get older, I would be very pleased to discover that those who might end up caring for me would have at least some of the insight and clarity of thinking of these two excellent authors. In particular, I recommend this book for medical students for they should have ethical literacy as part of their basic tool kit.

Cambridge Journals

Ethical issues is one of the Bradford Dementia Groups good practice guides and is intended for all those who care for people with dementia. It is well written and clearly presented. It aims to help in making all types of difficult decisions. Every situation is unique - there are no universal right answers "being more reflective" is the message implicit in every page.

CHS Heart Magazine