German researchers assessing clinical practice guidelines for dementia care in 12 countries, including the United States, conclude that key ethical concerns are often not addressed. The reseachers looked for 31 specific ethical issues identified as core in a previous study. USA guidelines, developed by the American Psychiatric Association, had a comparatively high score (77%) for consideration of the ethical topics. Overall the study suggested that four issues, “adequate consideration of advanced directives in decision making, usage of GPS and other monitoring techniques, covert medication, and dealing with suicidal thinking,” were not addressed in at least 11 of the 12 national guidelines.
For the full study, Inclusion of Ethical Issues in Dementia Guidelines: A Thematic Text Analysis, published August 13, 2013 in a peer-reviewed, open-source publication, see here.
– Katherine C. Pearson, Penn State Law