Comparative Analysis of Ethical-Legal Issues: Elder Abuse and Suicide

This essay provides a comparative analysis of two significant ethical-legal issues in healthcare: elder abuse and assisted suicide. It examines how each issue affects different populations, with elder abuse primarily impacting vulnerable elderly individuals and assisted suicide concerning terminally ill patients. The essay explores the ethical dilemmas associated with each issue, such as religious beliefs and financial dependency in elder abuse cases, and autonomy and beneficence in assisted suicide. It evaluates the ethical decision-making models proposed by different groups, including the Scope of Nursing Practice Decision-Making Framework for elder abuse and a multi-stage model for assisted suicide. The strategies for intervention and implementation, such as screening tools for elder abuse and mandatory reporting regulations for assisted suicide, are also discussed. The essay concludes by highlighting new approaches and next steps, including intergenerational programs and community education, to address these complex ethical-legal challenges, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and awareness in creating a more ethical healthcare environment. Desklib offers a range of resources, including similar solved assignments and study tools, to further assist students in understanding these critical healthcare issues.

Running head: ETHICAL-LEGAL ISSUES 1
Ethical-Legal Issues
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations

ETHICAL-LEGAL ISSUES 2
Ethical-Legal Issues
Ethical-legal issues have become prevalent in the recent past in the healthcare industry
especially in nursing practice, where the nurses have individual contact with patients on a daily
basis. The two groups elucidate their respective ethical-legal issues in different ways. ‘Group 7’
researched on elder abuse and defined it through the Center for Disease Control and Prevention
as failure to act or an intentional act by a caregiver which causes harm to an elderly person. The
‘group’ states that the victims or those affected by elder abuse are only the elderly individuals
who are unable to serve themselves. The impacts of elder abuse include anxiety, pressure ulcers,
depression, burns, impaired functions, bruising, and even malnutrition. On the other hand,
‘Group 10’ discussed assisted suicide as one of the most prevalent ethical-legal issues in
healthcare. The Group found that those who are most affected by assisted suicide are the terminal
patients (Levy, 2017). Terminal patients are patients suffering from chronic diseases and are
expected to pass away within six months. Moreover, the impact of assisted suicide is death.
The ethical dilemmas for elder abuse were identified to include religion, finance, and
separation of spouses. The members of Group 7 state that religion can influence a victim’s
decision to continue remaining in an abusive state because of the commitment of enduring
religious devotion. Other elderly persons also face abusive relationship because they depend on
other persons for financial support, therefore, cannot leave the abusive milieu. Additionally, the
elderly can face an abusive environment when they separate from their spouse, and this can lead
to a psychological effect on their health. Contrariwise, ‘Group 10’ states that the ethical
dilemmas and principles of assisted suicide encompass autonomy, freedom, beneficence,
veracity, fidelity, justice, and confidentiality (Moore & Browne, 2017). It is important to
highlight that the Group does not provide the ethical dilemmas instead provides only the

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principles. Both the Groups demonstrate the interaction between the dilemmas and the principles.
For example, patients’ autonomy is violated in situations where the assisted suicides are illegal
because the patients’ right to determine treatment or make decisions is encumbered.
Group 10 advocates that the ethical model for decision making for assisted suicide ought
to encompass examination of the dilemma, thorough comprehension of the alternatives,
hypothesis of the ethical arguments, investigation, comparison, and evaluation of the arguments,
choosing an option, acting on the choice, and looking at the results and reflecting on the decision
(Mastrian & McGonigle, 2018). This model can work because it involves various stages which
would help in reaching the final decision. In the same token, Group 7 provides the Scope of
Nursing Practice Decision-Making Framework has the best model for ethical decision making.
The model is very significant and can work well in eradicating elder abuse. It helps nurses to
determine roles, interventions, and specific activities allowed under a nurse’s competence,
licensure, and level of education as well as meeting the standards enacted by the Nurse Practice
Act.
The strategies mentioned by the two Groups are appropriate for intervention and
implementation. The strategies for elder abuse include screening using the Elder Abuse
Suspicion Index, comprehensive H&P, and Mini-Cog (Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 2018). The comprehensive H&P can be used to interview the caregiver and the
patient separately to establish any risk which might be associated with abuse. On the other hand,
Group 7 advocated that the strategies for assisted suicide include implementation of mandatory
reported regulations, patient self-determination Act, and death with Dignity Act. These strategies
can help in curbing the ethical-legal issues. It can be said that they are appropriate for

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implementation if the implementers are competent, respectful for human life, and have integrity.
Similarly, they can be appropriate when proper procedures and regulations are followed.
The Groups outlined the new approaches and accompanied them with the rationale for
actions. According to World Health Organization (2018), prevention is the goal, and the
prevention strategies should be evaluated to determine their effectiveness. Group 7 found that
school-based intergenerational programs should be initiated to reduce the negative attitudes
towards the elderly (Bonsall, 2015). Residential care policies should also be incorporated to aid
in improving care standards. Similarly, the healthcare industry should hasten death practices to
protect nurse, patients, and physicians. The sector should also change how assisted suicide is
professionally and publicly perceived. Lastly, the Groups provided a summary of the next steps
including collaboration initiatives to collect data and build evidence on the scope and types of
elder abuse in various settings around the world and national POLST forms to address assisted
suicide as well as community education. It is important to note that these steps can jointly work
to create awareness on the impact of assisted suicide and elder abuse.

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References
Bonsall, L. (2015). An ethical perspective on elder abuse. Nursing Center. Retrieved from
https://www.nursingcenter.com/ncblog/may-2015-(1)/an
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). Elder abuse prevention strategies. Retrieved
from developments in the field. Springer, 32(4), 383-397. DOI 10.1007/s10896-016-
9812-4-ethical-perspective-on-elder-abuse
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/elderabuse/prevention.html
Levy, N. L. (2017). Legal issues...assisted suicide: United States.CINAHL Nursing Guide.
Retreivedfromhttp://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.rasmussen.edu/eds/pdfviewer/
pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=eaa5a42c-268b-4f87-af60-f6c63d423575%40sessionmgr4008
Mastrian, K. G., & McGonigle, D. (2018).Nursing informatics and the foundation of
knowledge(4thed.). Retrieved fromhttp://online.vitalsource.com
Moore, C., & Browne, C. (2017). Emerging innovations, best practices, and evidence-based
practices in elder abuse and neglect: Areview of recent
World Health Organization. (2018). Elder abuse. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-
room/fact-sheets/detail/elder-abuse