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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| The use of ECT in older people: risks, rights and responsibilities | | Author(s) | Melissa Oxlad, Steve Baldwin |
| Journal title | Health Care in Later Life, vol 1, no 1, February 1996 |
| Pages | pp 39-49 |
| Keywords | Mental disorder ; Psychiatric treatment ; Older women ; Rights [elderly] ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | In the United States (US), older people, particularly women, are at increased risk of receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) due to treatment overgeneralisation' with inappropriate client populations. People are more at risk of ECT treatment with older age; these risks multiply if they have private health insurance and/or if they become eligible for federal government insurance programmes, which provide coverage for ECT treatment. This article argues that older people are an inappropriate population for ECT due to a variety of factors. Due to behavioural or intellectual impairment or deterioration, older adults often cannot give either valid or informed consent. Older people in institutions are at risk of inadvertent rights abuse, and often do not have access to an advocacy service. The added medical complications (particularly with cardiac problems) that occur with ageing contra-indicate ECT as an appropriate treatment for older people. The article concludes with recommendations for effective alternative treatments. |
| Accession Number | CPA-980212204 A |
| Classmark | E: LP: BD: IKR: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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