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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Advocacy in later life: an ethical analysis? | | Author(s) | Kevin David Kendrick |
| Journal title | Health Care in Later Life, vol 1, no 4, November 1996 |
| Pages | pp 253-259 |
| Keywords | Advocacy ; Patients ; Medical workers. |
| Annotation | Advocacy has become a central theme in the language and practice of contemporary health care. Principally, the key role of a patient advocate is to represent, safeguard and promote the interests of patients during all aspects of care delivery. Traditionally, the need for advocacy is closely linked to respect for, and the preservation of, patient autonomy. On first reading, such themes seem well focused and beneficent; however, closer analysis reveals a more insidious agenda that must be addressed. This paper critically explores and deconstructs some of the philosophical and motivational themes that have given focus and direction to the existence of advocacy as a potent force in the delivery of health care to older people. It argues that the very need for advocacy indicates a health care system that is based on power and paternalism. Further, it maintains that placing advocacy at the centre of health care's professional creed promotes a theme that threatens the very essence of patient self-governance. |
| Accession Number | CPA-980212220 A |
| Classmark | IQ: LF: QT |
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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