Ethical issues related to health care: the older adult's perspective

Although ethical issues in health care receive much publicity, attention is rarely given to the non-dramatic, everyday ethics of health care. This American Nurses' Foundation (ANF) funded pilot study was significant because it was the first to investigate everyday ethical issues from the perspective of older adult health care consumers. The overall goals of this descriptive study were to pilot interview questions and study design, as well as collect preliminary data about the ethical issues older adults in two settings (a residential facility and a non-residential community center) encounter related to health care. A sample of 10 participants answered several open-ended questions in an audiotaped interview; the tape was subsequently transcribed verbatim and analyzed using content analysis methods. Although two open-ended questions were effective in eliciting ethically related health care issues, the addition of specific examples to those questions was suggested. Health care related ethical issues identified by the older adults were categorized as Attentiveness, Respect, Care, Finances, and Health Care Systems. Although the residential participants did not experience financial issues as did the community participants, the highest priority issues for both residential and community participants were in the Attentiveness and Respect categories. The clinical implication of these findings is that nurses best address older adult health care consumers' most important ethical issues by providing attentive, respectful care in all they do.