title: Who is responsible for this? Assigning rights and consequences in elder care.
abstract: In the context of providing health and human services for older individuals, modern American culture often depends on formally asserting and battling over a clashing array of rights among respective combatants as a first resort at problem-solving. A substantial impediment exists in our cultural environment that discourages families and professionals, and the agencies that employ them, from recognizing and respecting the rights of older persons in a less adversarial and more subtle, sensitive, and flexible manner. This article discusses this barrier, illustrating it in several aging-related settings, and suggests a paradigm for addressing the situation. Then, several current challenges to the rethinking of rights and responsibilities in geriatric and gerontological practice are acknowledged.
authors: Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45401-0927, USA.
authors: M B
authors: MB
authors: Kapp
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003422:Critical Care; D003469:Culture; D003657:Decision Making; D006299:Health Services for the Aged / Q000592:standards*; D016852:Housing for the Elderly; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D010358:Patient Participation; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014481:United States