Obtaining informed consent from continuing care residents: issues and recommendations.
As the number of older adults residing in continuing care facilities increases, mental health professionals will provide more services and conduct more research in this setting. Mental health professionals working with continuing care residents will find themselves regularly challenged by ethical issues, particularly obtaining informed consent. Characteristics of the continuing care setting and residents make obtaining informed consent especially challenging. Mental health professionals must overcome these challenges in order to fulfill the following three requirements of informed consent: (1) the client is competent, (2) the client is provided with sufficient information, and (3) the client has not been coerced and/or the consent is voluntary. This article will examine the issues surrounding the fulfillment of these requirements in a continuing care facility, and will provide suggestions and guidelines that mental health professionals can utilize during the informed consent process.
Stelmach
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Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. lddalzel@ucalgary.ca
Konnert
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C
Dobson
K
K
D000368:Aged; D002170:Canada; D032882:Comprehension; D030881:Disclosure / Q000592:standards; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000592:standards*; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000592:standards*; D019727:Proxy; D012112:Residential Facilities; D020458:Third-Party Consent