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“Remain patient and give all your respect to our beloved seniors; they have earned their dignity through their lifetimes.” ·

quotation courtesy of: freedomcareny.com

…and now it’s time to play your favorite game…that’s right, you guessed it. It’s time for the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists asks us here at WILLPOWER2THEPEOPLE an MFT-related, “in the field” question for their nationally syndicated podcast.

^{_{WHICH ECONOMIC CONCERNS are RELEVANT TO ethical practice wiTh older adults?}}

Now is the time to broaden your mind. Come with me and explore the many possibilities, INCLUDING specific, cutting edge interventions MFTs can use with older adults who are struggling out there right now…

There are a few central issues that are impacting our seniors every day and with the right resources and initiative, we at the community level, can make the difference that they need in their lives to stay afloat.
ELDERLY POPULATION IS GROWING AT A RATE THAT IS OUT OF CONTROL
At present, there are 40 million Americans 65 +
In the year 2030, that same population will have doubled in quantity
2050 will see a 1/4 of Californians will be 60+(California Commission on Aging, 2016). We are not equipped to handle this kind of change at a country, state, or even local level. What does this kind of growth mean with respect to the number of elderly people that will require healthcare, living arrangements and assistance with their everyday needs?
Can we make a difference? IF so, how? First, there needs to be a banding together on the community level. We need programs and infrastructure in place to meet the needs of an elderly community that will one day soon be demanding some attention. I’m taking a lesson from the group, Serving Seniors, which helps by putting themselves out there and speaking out for the support of these kind of necessary investments. Also, the community needs to be constructing and reviewing upkeep over some senior housing facilities that will serve the southern tip of San Diego. LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
$1,765 per month (Zumper 2019) is the average one-bedroom living space in San Diego. Take into consideration that our median client lives on an income of just over $900 monthly. As a result of the complete and utter lack of affordable housing, our community’s poorest seniors are transitioning into homeless members of the community at an absolutely astonishing rate. Just from 2017 to 2018, the number of homeless seniors rose by 9%. At present, just over 30% of the local San Diego homeless population iis 55+ (San Diego Regional Task Force on the Homeless 2018).
I’m excitied to know that working arm in arm with Serving Senior, there is a plan in place to help establish housing that is in fact stable, by increasing the stock of transitional housing, so that the public can actually pay it’s rent and still have enough money left over to eat.
FOOD STRUGGLES
Nearly half of all seniors have to make a daily decision between paying the rent and going hungry (U.S. Census Bureau 2017). Without a consistent diet that they can count on, any struggling member of the elderly community may fall ill to any variety of chronic health conditions. lunchas heart disease, diabetes, and also hypertension, and that will see increases in their medical costs, thus threatening their independence as citizens of this great nation.
I’m assisting Serving Seniors this yearend am doing my part in improving the food security for low-income seniors by delivering $640,000 to over 4,000 elderly in need.

https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198701590.001.0001/med-9780198701590-chapter-29

“ Ethics are a system of moral values and can also be described as a set of principles of conscientious conduct. For those that work with older adults, this essentially means doing the right thing and honoring the individual’s decision. This is not always easy but there are well known ethical principles that help to guide professionals and they can be applied to various fields. The ethical principles include autonomy, justice, beneficence, non-maleficence, and fidelity. The definitions of these terms are outlined below.”

Maxwell, M. (2020) https://www.caregiverstress.com/geriatric-professional-resources/professional-development/ethics-of-working-with-older-adults/#:~:text=As%20professionals%20in%20the%20aging,when%20working%20with%20olde

Ethical principles:

• Autonomy: maintaining that defining one’s destiny is a basic human right
• Justice: benefits and burdens shared by determined equality
• Beneficence: doing good works in the name of an individual rather than a healthcare professionals
• Non-maleficence: the avoidance of harm
• Fidelity: faithfulness and honoring loyalty

The use of ethical principles is driven by formal and informal dimensions of the culture in which the professional works. Formal dimensions of culture are driven by polices and procedures. They are written and planned out, such as a client or patient bill of rights. Informal dimensions of culture are driven by the way people actually do things. They are unwritten and more spontaneous and include things such as storytelling, observing the behavior of others and “water-cooler talk.”

Courtesy of: Maxwell, M. 2020). https://www.caregiverstress.com/geriatric-professional-resources/professional-development/ethics-of-working-with-older-adults/#:~:text=As%20professionals%20in%20the%20aging,when%20working%20with%20olde

“The reason ethics are so important when working with older adults is because there are various attributes of advancing age that can make older adults vulnerable.”

Courtesy of: Maxwell, M. 2020).
Courtesy of: Tilvis, R. (2017-12). Legal and ethical issues in care of older adults. In Oxford Textbook of Geriatric Medicine. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2021, from https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198701590.001.0001/med-9780198701590-chapter-29.

Signs that show you’re Aging
• Experiencing loneliness
• Health declines
• Physical pain
• Continuous grief
• Brain Fog
• Money/Social challenges
• Social Outlets
• Financial status
• Employment history
• Environmental outlook
• Having to attend prison/programs
• High likelihood of not reporting abuse

Courtesy of: Maxwell, M. 2020). https://www.caregiverstress.com/geriatric-professional-resources/professional-development/ethics-of-working-with-older-adults/#:~:text=As%20professionals%20in%20the%20aging,when%20working%20with%20olde

“Ethical considerations go further than pure clinical assessments and include all consequences of starting and/or withholding of cure and care. The oldest Hippocratic principles—beneficence (doing good) and non-maleficence (not harming)—are obligations of physicians to act in the best interest of the patients. Autonomy, the existence and feeling of freedom of choice and self-governance, has replaced paternalism, and is cherished in Western culture. Sufficient information and capacity of the patient are preconditions for giving informed consent before any treatment is undertaken. In cases of lacking capacity, the healthcare providers must consult family members or other proxy persons to find out what the patient’s wish might have been. Advanced statements of wishes or advanced directives can help to avoid surrogate decisions.”

Courtesy of: Tilvis, R. (2017-12). Legal and ethical issues in care of older adults. In Oxford Textbook of Geriatric Medicine. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2021, from https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198701590.001.0001/med-9780198701590-chapter-29.

References

Ludwick, R., Silva, M. (December 19, 2003). Ethics Column: “Ethical Challenges in the Care of

Elderly Persons”. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. Vol. 9 No. 1. Available:

TableofContents/Volume92004/No1Jan04/EthicalChallenges.as

Maxwell, Mary. (2020). Ethics of Working with Older Adults. Laughing with Mary.

Maxwell Retrieved October 1, 2021, from caregiverstress.com

Tilvis, R. (2017).  Legal and ethical issues in care of older adults. In Oxford Textbook of

Geriatric Medicine. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2021, from

https://oxfordmedicine.com/view/10.1093/med/9780198701590.001.0001/med-

9780198701590-chapter-29.