Fatemeh Ghonoodi, Zahra Amrollah Majdabadi , Sahar Keyvanloo Shahrestanaki,
Volume 17, Issue 0 (Supplement of 11th Annual Iranian Congress of Medical Ethics 2024)
This study emphasizes that adherence to medical ethics principles by healthcare professionals is essential for improving the quality of care for elderly patients. With the aging population in Iran, the importance of this issue continues to grow. Therefore, integrating all care infrastructure to address healthcare challenges and identifying ethical issues in elderly care, along with efforts to resolve them, aligns with the practical application of medical ethics and meets the current and future care needs of this population. The present study aimed to identify and examine the ethical challenges in the care process of elderly patients. Using a systematic review approach based on Aveyard, databases such as PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, Ethics Share, and Google Scholar were searched for articles published between 2017 and the present. The search used keywords including “ethical challenge,” “care,” and “elderly patients.” Inclusion criteria were articles published in English or Persian that were relevant to the research objective; studies without available full texts were excluded. Thirty articles that systematically analyzed ethical challenges in elderly care were included. The results indicated that the primary ethical challenges are respect for elderly patients’ autonomy, preserving their dignity and privacy, insufficient education and awareness regarding professional-patient communication, and a lack of elderly-friendly activities in healthcare settings. Additionally, the emotional difficulties caused by complex chronic conditions necessitate expanded access to appropriate psychological support for the elderly. This study highlights that these ethical challenges are influenced by cognitive, educational, practical, and structural factors. Consequently, integrated care approaches that prioritize elderly patients’ independent preferences and ensure strong physician-patient relationships in clinical decision-making are needed. To mitigate these challenges, appropriate educational programs aimed at enhancing both the quantity and quality of medical ethics education for healthcare professionals—including students, staff, and faculty—are essential. Given the significance of this issue, continuous educational programs should be developed for nurses and other healthcare professionals to familiarize them with existing ethical challenges and improve the quality of care provided to elderly patients.
