title: Ethical problems in geriatrics: views of Turkish primary healthcare professionals.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Primary healthcare professionals frequently encounter ethical issues in the care of older adults. These issues might particularly appear in the context of "age discrimination", "respect for autonomy", "respect for privacy" and "decision-making competency". The aims of this study were to determine the frequency rates of various geriatric ethical problems and to evaluate the importance given to these problems in primary healthcare.
  
  
  METHODS
  In order to evaluate the opinions, a questionnaire tool was formulated. The participants were asked to review the list of geriatric ethical issues, to state the frequency of encountering them and to identify the importance ratings for each issue. The sample consisted of 86 primary healthcare professionals (50 physicians and 36 nurses) aged between 24 and 50 years.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Based on the results, the most frequently encountered ethical issues were on "decision-making competency" and these issues respectively were "decision-making with relatives instead of elder patients", "not informing elders due to the lack of tolerance" and "not informing elders due to the lack of comprehending". The most important geriatric ethical issues were "ignoring respect for privacy", "ignoring patient's complaints" and "rejecting detailed examination or treatment because of age".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the results show that the nurses and physicians in primary healthcare frequently encounter geriatric ethical problems related to the decision-making process, which is a common issue for Turkey as a paternalistic society. The findings show that primary healthcare professionals are sensitive to geriatric ethical issues; however, this sensitivity does not prevent the emergence of these issues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Ethics, Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine, Adana, Turkey.
authors.forename: Funda Gülay
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Kadıoğlu
authors.forename: Rana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Can
authors.forename: Sadık
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nazik
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kadıoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003657:Decision Making; D004989:Ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000941:ethics*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: age discrimination; decision making competency; ethical problems; geriatrics; primary health care professionals