Moral arguments about inclusion/exclusion of elderly people in health care

Abstract

The fast population aging is the most significant demographic change observed in developing countries. Mostpatients admitted in hospital centers are the elderly, who are willing to submit themselves to treatments in orderto return, after discharge, to a functional health status that is similar to the previous one. In this context,attention to the needs of population requires a proper bioethics training of human resources in health care towardgeriatrics, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). However in the decision of elderly ICU admission, themoral aspects end up being subsumed to the purely technical aspects, with no cogent justification, what mayinfluence the decision in a discriminatory manner, affecting the elderly population. In the present work, sixmoral arguments against the proposed hospital admission of geriatric patient into the ICU will be addressedand criticized in light of the tools of principlist bioethics and bioethics of protection.