Challenges of an aging society : ethical dilemmas, political issues

Pruchno, Rachel. (Added Author). Smyer, Michael A. (Added Author).

Summary: "In this collection, some of the best minds in gerontology and bioethics explore the ethical, social, and political challenges of an aging society. A unique combination of disciplines and perspectives from economics to nursing, psychology to theology - this synthesis of theory and practice provides frameworks and analyses for considering the ethical issues of both individual and societal aging." "The contributors address the major policy challenges of Social Security, Medicare, and prescription drugs as well as ethical issues ranging from individual autonomy to family responsibility to distributive justice. Specific topics covered include end-of-life decision making, family relations across generations, age-based intergenerational policies, and the reform of Social Security."--BOOK JACKET.

Record details

ISBN: 0801886481 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN: 9780801886485 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Physical Description: xi, 448 p. : ill ; 24 cm.
print
Publisher: Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Introduction : the science and ethics of aging well / Rachel A. Pruchno and Michael A. Smyer -- 1. The legal aspects of end-of-life decision making / Nancy and Neveloff Dubler -- 2. Assessing competency to make medical decisions at the end of life : clinician and patient issues / Daniel C. Marson -- 3. The ethics of long-term care : recasting the policy discourse / Charles J. Fahey -- 4. Religiosity and spirituality at the end of life : challenges and opportunities / Lucy Feild -- 5. The family and the future : challenges, prospects, and resilience / Norella M. Putney, Vern L. Bengtson and Melanie A. Wakeman -- 6. Long-term care, feminism, and an ethics of solidarity / Martha B. Holstein -- 7. Aging, generational opposition, and the future of the family / H. Rick Moody -- 8. Minority elders in the United States : implications for public policy / Kyriakos S. Markides and Steven P. Wallace -- 9. Allocating resources for lifelong learning for older adults / Ronald J. Manheimer -- 10. Transforming age-based policies to meet fluid life-course needs / W. Andrew Achenbaum and Thomas R. Cole -- 11. The political paradoxes of thinking outside the life-cycle boxes / Robert B. Hudson -- 12. Is responsibility across generations politically feasible? / Robert H. Binstock -- 13. Social security reform and responsibility across the generations : framing the debate / John B. Williamson -- 14. Setting the agenda for social security reform / Eric R. Kingson -- 15. A summary of Saving social security : a balanced approach / Peter A. Diamond and Peter R. Orszag -- 16. Assessing the returns from the new Medicare drug benefit / Bruce Stuart -- 17. Prescription drugs and elders in the twenty-first century / Christine E. Bishop.