Dignity and Old Age

Rose Dobrof, Robert Disch, Harry R Moody

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9781317844600
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Mental Health in Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Open up Dignity and Old Age, and you'll find a wealth of thoughtful suggestions for how you and others can gain more respect and admiration for your relatives, neighbors, and patients who are in the latter stages of life. You'll examine the word "dignity" as it relates to the world's elderly population to the fullest and most challenging extent, taking into account cross-cultural, religious, and even literary influences. Throughout this provoking and thorough examination, you'll tackle some tough questions, all of which will equip you with the theoretical and practical know-how needed to evoke change and preserve honorable relations with the elderly persons in your professional and personal relationships. The manner in which Dignity and Old Age will help you grow in your relationships with elderly people is twofold--ideally and practically. You'll begin with a revitalizing discussion of concepts that revolve around dignity and the elderly, and from there you'll move into the sphere of active practice, gleaning a wide variety of ways you can enhance your affairs with the elderly in health care, social services, government, and retirement entitlements and benefits. Specifically, you'll find positive approaches in these and other areas:

• the dignity in old age
• the true meaning of "Quality of Life" in old age
• achieving respect for ethnic elders as a health care provider
• bringing spirituality and community together in the last stage of life
• forming a philanthropic, caring partnership between government and the elderly In this insightful volume, you'll take an important step forward in creating a more dignified quality of life for the world's elderly--today's and tomorrow's. Overall, you'll gain the variety of perspectives necessary to ensure that everyone you come in contact with in casual, legal, leisure, and professional spheres will see you care enough to be concerned with the ideas and practices contained in Dignity and Old Age.

Index

Addams, J., 150

Addiction, 104-107

Affluence-testing, 143-144

African Americans

care provider respect for, 64-66

grandparents’ influence on children, 1-7

religion in identity, 57

survivorship, 65

Age-based entitlements, 20-23. See also Means-tested entitlements

Age-integrated society, 18-19

Age-irrelevant society, 18-19

Agency, ethics of, 115-118

Age-segregated service systems, 21-22

Alcoholics Anonymous, 105-107

“Allegory of the Cave” (Plato), 94-95

Alternative medicine, 100-101

Altruism, 150-154

Alzheimer’s patients. See Dementia

American Indians, 66

Andersen, E., 159

Assisted suicide. See Physician-assisted suicide

Authors. See Narrative redemption for aging male writers

Autonomy

community and spirituality in, 87-89

cultural issues, 63-64, 67

in dignity, 29-30, 31-33

vs. paternalism, 111-127

in Alzheimer’s, 124-127

courtesy as positive liberty, 122-124

ethical arguments, 113-118

lifespan perspective, 118-121

Bearon, L. B., 41

Bible. See Judeo-Christian tradition

Bismarck, 162

Bridges, Ruby, 1-7

Cambodian-Americans, 62, 63

Canada, 160

Cancer, 97-102

Care providers

compassion of, 101-102

diversity of, 60-61

education in treating others with dignity, 50-51

motivation for treating old with dignity, 73-75

paternalism vs. autonomy, 124-127

respecting ethnic elders, 53-69

aging and ethnicity, 56-59

bi-cultural aging, 61-64

diversity issues, 59-61

interactional persp...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Dedication to Ellsworth G. Stanton III
• Foreword
• Dignity Over the Life Course
• Why Dignity in Old Age Matters
• I. The Meaning of Dignity
• II. Practice and Policy
• About the Authors
• Index