Legal and Ethical Issues in Caregiving

Chapter
First Online:
Part of the Clinical Sociology: Research and Practice book series (CSRP)

Abstract

Ethical issues near the end of life often arise because of concerns about how much and what kind of care make sense for someone with a limited life expectancy, especially if the person is very ill. There is often conflict between health professionals and family members about what constitutes appropriate care. Many conflicts can be avoided by clarifying who makes the difficult decisions to limit care, and by advance planning. Caregivers should begin making legal preparations soon after their loved one has been diagnosed with a serious illness. Ethical and legal issues are embedded in the role of family caregiver. As the key decision-maker the family caregiver is faced with choosing options in addressing the concerns and expectations of the care recipient and/or other family members, and their own limitations in skills, time and resources. Decision-making and planning for incapacity, long-term care and death usually do not occur in the advance of an event, therefore, it is not surprising that only 20–30% of Americans have formalized their wishes in the event of their incapacity or death. Decision-making about the future usually occurs at the time of a diagnosis of a terminal illness. Physicians honor the principle of patient autonomy about decisions affecting their lives. A conversation about advance directives and questions about caregiving should involve the physician, patient, and family caregiver. Advance directives help to preserve the recipient’s well-being by protecting them against unwanted medical interventions.

Keywords

Advance directives Patient autonomy Abusive behavior Euthanasia Physician aid-in-dying Legal issues in caregiving 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of SociologyNorthern Arizona UniversityFlagstaffUSA
  2. 2.Department of SociologyUniversity of MarylandPrincess AnneUSA

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