Who's
Life is it anyway?' - Ethical issues in
caring for the elderly.
Current
statistics suggest that many of today's
working force will live well beyond the
expected limits of the past. Caring for
the elderly is hence an important issue
facing the baby-boomer generation, now approximately
45-65 years of age. "The world in the
future would have more elderly people but
also more people with cognitive impairment"
said Prof. Peter Whitehouse, Director, Integrative
Studies, Department of Neurology, Case Western
Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.
Prof.
Whitehouse delivered the 8th anyway?"E.S.
Krishnamoorthy memorial endowment lecture
titled "Who's Life is it
Ethical
issues in caring for the elderly' organized
by the Neurosciences India Group (NSIG)
at St. Isabel Hospital on 12th November,
2006, Prof. Whitehouse stressed on the importance
of the role personalized care of the aged
people.' He acknowledged the benefit of
the Eastern family model of "self engagement
in relationship with others' over the more
individualized nature of the Western family.
We should somehow find a way to bring the
generations together.' He said.
He
elucidated his personal experience of setting
up a trans-generational school in Cleveland,
"The InterGenerational School', where
children go to school with elders. He said
that positive impacts of such interaction,
was found to be visible on both the age
groups. "Ageing is something that we
go through our ensure life and we should
not wait till we are old to appreciate it',
he opined.
Calling
for a change in the term "Alzheimer's
disease", Prof. Whitehouse said that
this could be a frightening label for memory
loss due to brain ageing . A documentary
on people with Alzheimer's depicted the
condition of the "worried' and "frightened'
old people suffering from this condition.
Prof.
Whitehouse also touched upon ethical issued
that need to be addressed with regard to
dementia research. Informed consent is an
issue that has drawn different consensus
in different countries. This is especially
relevant with regard to clinical trials
conducted by pharmaceutical companies. "The
practice states that voluntary participation
of the person is mandatory, however, in
the case of dementia research, the decision
is made by others," he pointed out.
Professor Whitehouse stressed on the need
for business houses to become more ecologically
conscious and highlighted the future role
of IT, in caring for the elderly. "I
feel that in the future, many people with
dementia will die due to lack of food and
fluids". Distribution of illnesses
due to global warming and growing disparities
between the rich and poor were other concerns
expressed by him.
Earlier,
in his presidential address, Dr. C.V. Krishnaswamy,
Head of Department of Diabetes at Voluntary
Health Services, Chennai, said that ethical
considerations of yesteryears are not really
applicable to today's monetarily driven
world. Former civil servant and associate
editor of News Today, recalled the life
and time of E.S. Krishnamoorthy.
Welcoming
the guest lecturer, Professor E.S. Krishnamoorthy,
said that though men and women are living
longer, whether they are leading healthier
lives is a quiestion that needs to be considered."
We believe that we are doing the best for
them, but is it really so?" was his
rhetoric. Professor Krishnamoorthy Srinivas
delivered the welcome address, giving a
brief outline about his father on whose
name the endowment lecture has been instituted.
Dr. Saradha Menon, Mrs. Savithri Vaithi,
director of Vishranthi old-age home, K.
Radhakrishnan, Vice-chairman of Dignity
foundation and Mary Ann John, Managing Director
of St. Isabel's Hospital were also present
on the occasion.
