Community-dwelling cognitively impaired frail elders: an analysis of social workers' decisions concerning support for autonomy.
Home health care practice with cognitively impaired elders and their families often raises difficult clinical and ethical issues for social workers. This descriptive study examined the influence of safety, caregiver burden, and diagnostic labels on social workers' support for autonomy. All three factors were found to be significantly related to support for autonomy. There were also interactive effects between safety, caregiver burden and diagnosis. Especially important was the identification of the influence of diagnostic labels on social workers' support for autonomy. Respondents supported less autonomy for elders depicted as diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease than those diagnosed with stroke.
Healy
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Department of Social Work, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME 04104, USA. thealy@usm.maine.edu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D003631:Day Care, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D016330:Frail Elderly / Q000523:psychology*; D005610:Freedom; D006801:Humans; D008281:Maine; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009513:New Hampshire; D012449:Safety; D012947:Social Work; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications*; D014707:Vermont