Forcing services on at-risk older adults: when doing good is not so good

This essay examines the interplay between the ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence in the context of deciding whether to intervene in the life of an at-risk older adult by providing health and human services over the older person's objection. The need to distinguish between the rights and welfare of the older client, on one hand, and the interests and drives of the professional caregiver, on the other hand, is emphasized.