Health care for the elderly: a social obligation.
OBJECTIVE
Ageism in the allocation of health care.


OBJECTIVE
To explore the ethical bases for rationing health care according to age, and to make appropriate recommendations for nursing policy and practice.


METHODS
Published literature.


CONCLUSIONS
Limiting access to resources and opportunities for older Americans simply because they are old is clearly a case of ageism. The authors opine that society has an obligation to provide an adequate level of health care to all, rationing on the basis of age is wrong, and nursing policy and practice should support this stance.
Stallard
J Michael
JM
College of Health Professions, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA. michael.stallard@nau.edu
Decker
Ilene M
IM
Sellers
Judith Bunnell
JB
D000368:Aged; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D015276:Health Care Rationing; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D011287:Prejudice; D012935:Social Justice; D014481:United States