Social and clinical value
Social and clinical value assessments are subjective and provide opportunities for ethical issues to arise based on conflicts of interests. These conflicts may arise due to pressure on the researcher to gain funding for their study increasing their motivation to slant their proposal toward increased value of their research where possible. Further motivation for accenting the positive nature of the research may be found in the personal biases of the researcher. This study uses a team approach intended to mitigate the impact of these conflicts and biases.
Scientific validity Scientific validity’s ethical issues revolve around manipulating and presenting the data in ways that increase its perceived value thereby enhancing
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By nature, the interview process is designed to uncover facets of elder abuse that could not be anticipated in advance of the preparation of the survey questions. The relationship between the interviewer and the participant will be different for each interview. To improve our findings and gain consistency, the study will utilize one interviewer for all interviews. Furthermore, the study will conduct all interviews in the same or similar neutral setting. Scientific validity can be compromised if the interviewer was a clinician or counselor prior to becoming involved with the research study. This ethical issue can result in unintentional manipulation of the participant should the interviewer change roles back and forth between clinician and interviewer during the interview process. This study utilizes a graduate research assistant with no prior clinical background to avoid this ethical …show more content…
Some of the known issues involve confidentiality of the interview data, the relationship between the interviewer and the participants and the reasons why the participant decided to share their experiences with the interviewer. Additional ethical issues are created by the environment chosen to conduct the interview, the social interaction between the interviewer and the participant, the distress level of the participant during the interview, the potential reporting requirements should additional unreported elder abuse become know, the possibility the research questions may be mis-understood by the participants causing them to feel deceived by the question.
Unless the interviewers are trained, licensed counselors, they have a moral obligation to stop the interview when it is obvious to them that the participants could benefit from counseling (Orb, 2001). The possibility must be considered that, by experiencing old wounds, a caregiver might be triggered to perform another act of elder abuse. This possibility exposes both the interviewer and their institution to unwanted legal consequences.
Independent
Those who were affected by the testing in hospitals, prisons, and mental health institutions were the patients/inmates as well as their families, Henrietta Lacks, the doctors performing the research and procedures, the actual institutions in which research was being held, and the human/health sciences field as a whole. Many ethical principles can be applied to these dilemmas: Reliance on Scientific Knowledge (1.01), Boundaries of Competence (1.02), Integrity (1.04), Professional and Scientific Relationships (1.05), Exploitative Relationships (1.07, a), Responsibility (2.02), Rights and Prerogatives of Clients (2.05), Maintaining Confidentiality (2.06), Maintaining Records (2.07), Disclosures (2.08), Treatment/Intervention Efficacy (2.09), Involving Clients in Planning and Consent (4.02), Promoting an Ethical Culture (7.01), Ethical Violations by Others and Risk of Harm (7.02), Avoiding False or Deceptive Statements (8.01), Conforming with Laws and Regulations (9.01), Characteristics of Responsible Research (9.02), Informed Consent (9.03), and Using Confidential Information for Didactic or Instructive Purposes (9.04), and Debriefing (9.05). These particular dilemmas were not really handled until much later when laws were passed that regulated the way human subjects could be used for research. Patients
Some of these cases of abuse are done in elderly homes by family members. In the first section of the article, the authors discuss the definition of elder abuse. The authors began with the most common types of elder abuse, which are physical and neglect. Elder abuse is the intentional use of physical force that results in acute or chronic illness, bodily injury, physical pain, functional impairment, distress, or death (Choi NG & Mayer J. In summary, the rhetorical analysis essay discusses how elder abuse and neglect affect the victims physically, emotionally, and professionally.
Philosophical context: To discuss this question I will use “Values and Objectivity” by Helen Longino along with actual studies involving scientific objectivity. In Longino’s work, she sets up the avenues for criticism of scientific work and explains why they are important.
Rodríguez, M. A., Wallace, S. P., Woolf, N. H., & Mangione, C. M. (2006). Mandatory reporting of elder abuse: Between a rock and a hard place. Annals of Family Medicine, 4(5), 403-409. doi:10.1370/afm.575
Of nursing home staff interviewed in 2004, nearly 40% admitted to committing at least one psychologically abusive act toward a resident and 10% admitted to physically abusing a resident in the preceding year.[1] Not only are nursing home residents at risk of being abused by their caretakers but they are also at risk of being restrained, which may lead to a form of abuse. With five percent of the elderly population, or one to two million instances of elder abuse occurring yearly there is no doubt that elder abuse deserves serious consideration.[2]
Gainey, R. R., & Payne, B. K. (2006). Caregiver Burden, Elder Abuse and Alzheimer's Disease: Testing the Relationship. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration , 29, 245-259.
While these medical personnel are reluctant to report abuse, there are approximately 2,000 reported deaths in children due to abuse each year. With the elderly, the number of deaths is uncertain. In the case of the elderly, medical examiners have difficulty separating possible abuse from normal health issues and injuries. It is noted that most senior citizens that report abuse generally are twice as likely to die within a year of the abuse report as senior citizens not abused.
Meeks‐Sjostrom, Diana. 2004. “A Comparison of Three Measures of Elder Abuse.” Journal of Nursing Scholarship. Retrieved October 29, 2017
In addition, just like with children, this dependency can lead to abuse and/or neglect. There has been an increase in the number of elderly people that have been subjected to violence and mistreatment. This type of treatment is associated with the individual’s dependency on others, whether it be a relative, acquaintance and/or institution (Meadows, 2010). According to estimates “between 1 and 2 million Americans aged 65 years or older have been injured, exploited, or otherwise mistreated by someone on whom they depended for protection (National Research Council Panel to Review Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 2003)” (Meadows, 2010, p. 87).
The second case of elder abuse is neglect, when caregivers lack the knowledge to properly care over someone. Adult Protection Services (APS) are often called to investigate and to ensure that self-care services are provided for the elders. In one of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services cases of elder abuse and neglect, family members caring for an elder woman were apparently unaware that they were abusing the elder. The family members did not realize that the women were in poor health that led a neighbor to suspect physical abuse. The neighbor contacted APS to investigate. The APS reported that the elder woman...
There are currently two important pieces of legislation that address elder abuse issues. The Older Americans Act must submit to a reauthorization process every five years. Throughout the years there have been many adaptations to the act. Presently, there are four sections that apply to elder abuse primarily in the form of research processes, grant eligibili...
According to the Nation Council on Aging (NCOA), “approximately 1 in 10 Americans aged 60 and up have experienced some form of elder abuse. Some estimates range as high as 5 million elders who are abuse each year.” More specifically, a study based in New York estimated that 260,00 (1 in 13) older adults in the state of New York were victims of at least one form of elder abuse in the preceding year. The study revealed that major financial exploitation was self-reported at a rate of 41 per 1,000 surveyed, which was higher than self-reported rates o emotional, physical and sexual abuse or neglect. (NCEA, 2016). But, sadly with all of the issues of abuse only 1 in 14 cases of abuse get reported to authorities (NCOA, 2017). These situations of abuse are happening by both men and women, with 60% of the abuse performed by family members (NCOA, 2017). The population of elderly is increasing every year and with the elder being the most vulnerable we need to put an end to the incidences of abuse. Now that we have a better understanding of the prevalence and different forms of elder abuse that are present in our healthcare system, there is a question of why these things happen to elders specifically. Why are elderly patients subjected to these forms of
Ethics refers to the values and customs of a community at a particular point in time. At present, the term ethics is guided by the moral principles that guide our everyday actions. These moral principles guide the researcher into deciding what is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The foundation of medical ethics is governed by two philosophical frameworks that are deontology, and utilitarianism. However ultimately the ethics committees need to balance the risks, and benefits for the participants and the community associated with the particular research proposal. This balance is quite important as the well being of participants is at risk.7
The clinical and statistical approaches have both proven to be successful methods in clinical psychology. Each approach has its pros and cons depending on the type of situation that is being dealt with. Clinical judgment can be a complex process because it requires a patient’s data which are composed of samples, observations, signs of underlying states and the clinician’s responses. According to Sundberg, Tyler and Taplin (1973) clinical interpretation may consist of 3 different levels: Level 1 deals with clinicians being familiar with certain experiences, and therefore, making a prediction based off of that. An example of this would be the SAT or GRE assessments. Level 2 is comprised of clinicians carefully observing a patient’s behaviors and coming up with a conclusion based off of the behavior characteristics that the patient displays. In level 3, based off of the individual’s determinants in a specific situation, the clinician seeks a consistent understanding. For example, blood responses on the Rorschach test can be a determinant of hidden aggression, which would then lead to future impulsive outbursts or losing control of oneself (Sundverg, Tyler and Taplin 1973). Although both the clinical and statistical approaches have proven to be beneficial, I believe that clinical psychologists should not rely more on statistical predictions and prepackaged treatments than clinical judgment and individual patients.
However on the other hand, for all advantages; there are disadvantages. In some instances when people utilize and manipulate data, they may knowingly falsify data so that it may adhere to ones beliefs or theories. In addition there are people who may deliberately tamper with information as well. When collecting information, there must be neutrality when assessing and collecting data. In addition, professional competence and integrity must be superior and finally, all research subjects or respondents must be safeguarded from potential harm and sabotage.