Ethical Issues in Health Care Delivery for the Aging Population

Ethical Issues in Health Care Delivery for the Aging Population

According to Hayutin, Dietz, and Mitchell (2010), 80 million U.S. citizens ages 65 and older will represent most of the population by 2030. The author also states that life expectancy is projected to increase from 65 to 83 years of age as a resultof people living longer, healthier lives (Hayutin, Dietz, & Mitchell, 2010). The overall population of the United States is growing older and both opportunities and challenges will arise with this aging process. Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security will have an increase in the amount of federal government spending (Hayutin et al., 2010). Beingthat the current budgets for these programs are already being exhausted, this continued increase in spending could be quite destructive.The allocation of resources in health care to specific populations is a topic that is generating controversy among government officials, the health care industry, andsociety in general(Crippen & Barnato, 2011). According to Crippen and Barnato(2011), the reallocation of resources between the young and elderly populations carries both ethical and moral implications. It is both our legal and ethical duty as nurses toensure that each of our patients are provided quality care. According to provisions 8 and9 of the American Nurse’s Association (2012), it is the nurse’s role to protect humanrights, promote health diplomacy, and reduce health disparities by maintaining thenursing profession and integrating principles of social injustice into nursing and health policies