Ethical reason for the care of aged people with regard to the ill-treatment phenomenon
De Llanos Peña F

SUMMARY

In our assistance environment, the fact of ill-treatment suffered by aged people appears with more incidences every day. With regard of this challenge, geriatric and gerontologic nursery professionals feel the need to know what reason gives sense to the inner goodness of our cares; and in that way, to exclude whatever derivation of ill-treatment, which is incompatible naturally with our professional behaviour. The question, in this sense, that beats at the bottom of our functions has an ethical root.
In the present article, as well as letting know the ill-treatment phenomenon suffered by aged people, we initiate an ethical framework design with normative character, that gives us the sense of the geriatric cares, denoting four constitutive elements of the professional behaviour: the real alterity of “the other” human being; the vulnerability that bears to be aged; our responsibility as professional of right-treatment; and the attention to our aged people.
To discover the inner goodness that “of itself” accredits the care to aged people, allows us to discover the non-separability between cares and right-treatment towards our aged people.

KEY WORDS

Ill-treatment to aged people, alterity of the other, assistance, vulnerability, responsibility, non-maleficence.

Vol. 14 nº4-2003