Defense Date

2-1-2024

Graduation Date

Spring 5-2024

Availability

One-year Embargo

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Health Care Ethics

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Joris Gielen

Committee Member

Gerard Magill

Committee Member

Peter Ikechukwu Osuji

Keywords

Geriatric, Psychiatry, Principlism, Psychology, Ethics

Abstract

As the field of psychiatry continues to expand, the importance of equitable care continues to remain apparent. Geriatric patients with psychiatric conditions experience a heightened rate of discrimination in care facilities and psychiatric symptoms are often left untreated or individuals are forcibly treated against their will. While these patients typically present with a handful of physical comorbidities, gaps in care typically result from a lack of resources delegated to the aging population and an extreme lack of education for clinicians dealing with psychiatric patients.

Clinicians and additional members of the medical team have typically prioritized a paternalistic approach to the care of geriatric patients with psychiatric conditions. While a paternalistic approach does draw from the principle of beneficence, healthcare professionals in psychiatry have often prioritized this principle over the other three ethical principles of autonomy, justice, and nonmaleficence.

The dissertation argues that the four principles approach in geriatric psychiatry reduces inequities in psychiatric care and assists in reducing levels of coercion throughout the geriatric psychiatric population. This goal is accomplished through the analysis of the principles of autonomy, justice, beneficence, and nonmaleficence.

Language

English

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