Ethics and Aging in America: Case Study Analysis
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The swelling number of older people seeking long-term palliative care in recent years calls for better comprehension and awareness of quality healthcare services for the population that is sick and advanced in age. The influx of aged patients seeking urgent palliative care in the health facilities is concrete proof that the near future will call for a more reliable medical care system and competent health care providers to take on the responsibility to put in place quality healthcare supported by a secure system that is both efficient and cost-driven. It is true to the adage that the character of a people can be determined by how they treat their elderly; the healthcare system put in place for the elderly therefore acts as a clear reflection of our values as a nation. It is important to note that there are numerous ethical issues in the health care system that affect everyone inconsiderate of age. However, this dissertation intends to shed light only on the ethical issues about the elderly population, as in the case of Ms. L from the case study.
Any future decisions to be made concerning palliative care for the aged population needs to be solely based on an ethical foundation because the issue of an efficient healthcare system for the aged will stick with us into the next few decades of the 21st century. The decisions to be made regarding palliative healthcare for the elderly must be made with full comprehension of the political and social climate and an understanding of healthcare history for the aged in the nation.
Clinicians classify functional limitations into two broad categories to analyze the intensity of care required by the patient. The first category based on day to day functions and activities is abbreviated as ADL, which stands for “activities of daily living” such as bathing, eating, toileting, movement, and work. Patients classified as ADL-dependent is hindered from daily activity by various cognitive impairments and require special aid to go about their daily activities. Ms. L suffered from advanced cancer of the vulvar that strained her movements and other daily functions. As in the case of Ms. L, several factors, such as her cancer prognosis, her struggle with drug and substance use, including narcotics like cocaine and heroin, among other factors, have to be considered before a decision was made on the intensity of care she needed at the advanced age of 87.
Despite Ms. L being HIV positive, she had lived with the virus up to an advanced age of 87, and this can be attributed to the fact that there were significant improvements in dealing with disabling conditions and health complications that affect the elderly patients, and this guarantees a long period of care for people with these disabling conditions.
Ms. L was a senior citizen of African-American descent, and the demographic factors and ethnic compositions definitely affected her need for long-term care. It is projected that the ethnic composition in the United States by the year 2030 will comprise 5% Asiatic origin, 11% Hispanic, 10% African-American, and 72% white. These statistics suggest the need for a boost in government finances and subsidies and improved healthcare services for all. It is also a fact that the racial minorities, Ms. L included, had a high dependency rate on the public subsidies to finance their long-term health care needs. This trend was attributed to the prevailing patterns of distribution of economic resources among the ethnic and racial groups in the United States.