Ethics and Personhood in Dementia Care

Apply ethical practices to improve dementia care

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 55 million people are living with dementia worldwide. While there is no cure for dementia, there are still ways to care for individuals with dementia and their support systems.

On this flexible, online course from McGraw Hill, you’ll explore ways to improve quality of life for dementia patients by examining ethical considerations around person-centred care.

At the end of eight weeks, you’ll leave the course with greater knowledge and skills to confidently deal with difficult ethical issues when caring for individuals with dementia.

Assess ethical theories in dementia

Ethical issues are involved in every decision involving someone with dementia. Start this course by learning what some of these issues are and the four ethical theories approaches to providing support.

You’ll apply these theories and approaches as it relates to coherence, which involves understanding and integrating various ethical perspectives to create consistent and compassionate care strategies.

Grasp the concept of personhood and patient best interests

Then explore what it means to have personhood and how this concept applies to individuals living with dementia. Understand how to use the Situated Embodied Agent (SEA) perspective to provide more compassionate and person-centred care.

Assess ethical issues when supporting dementia patients

Lastly, you’ll delve into more nuanced issues that you may encounter when supporting individuals living with dementia. Before finishing with end-of-life ethical dilemmas, you’ll discuss the implications of assistive technology, forced care, sexuality and intimacy, as it relates to dementia care.

This course is designed for health professionals looking to upskill in ethical dementia care. It’s particularly suited for health and care professionals, students in health-related studies, and those living with dimension or people with dementia. No prior knowledge is needed to join.

This course is designed for health professionals looking to upskill in ethical dementia care. It’s particularly suited for health and care professionals, students in health-related studies, and those living with dimension or people with dementia. No prior knowledge is needed to join.

• Identify the extent of ethical issues that arise in the context of dementia, both for the person living with dementia and for those (formally or informally) who provide care.
• Explain (using driving as an issue) the four main theories of ethics: consequentialism, duty-based ethics (deontology), principlism and virtue ethics.
• Discuss an approach to ethics that relies on coherence (“patterns of practice”).
• Reflect on how person-centred care is based on a broad notion of what it is to be a person (that is, what it is to have personhood).
• Explore a broad view of personhood: the situated-embodied-agent (SEA) view.
• Explore what might be in the best interests of a person living with dementia in connection with the use of assistive technology using the notions of patterns of practice and personhood.
• Explain issues that arise in connection with sexuality and intimacy for people living with dementia using the notions of patterns of practice and personhood.
• Assess issues that arise in connection with the end of life using the notions of patterns of practice and personhood.