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[Please
note that the material on this page was current when
it was first posted. For up-to-date information on this
topic, visit the Alzheimer
Care section.]
Ethical
Guidelines Media Kit
April
18, 1997
Media
Release
For
Immediate Release
April 18, 1997
For
more information:
Debbie Krulicki, Manager, Media Relations and Communications,
Alzheimer Society of Canada -- (416)488-8772 or pr@alzheimer.ca
Alzheimer
Society of Canada issues ethical guidelines
The
Alzheimer Society of Canada today released a set of ethical
guidelines, the first of its kind in Canada, at the Society's
19th annual conference in St. John's, Newfoundland. The
guidelines provide a context for individuals with Alzheimer's disease, their families, professional care providers
and researchers to discuss the tough issues that they
face when dealing with the disease. The guidelines cover
issues such as whether individuals with Alzheimer's disease
should be told the diagnosis and whether they should
continue to drive.
"Families
have been asking for some kind of direction," says
Alzheimer Society of Canada President Marg Eisner. "The
ethical guidelines help them raise difficult, and often
sensitive, issues so that they can gather the information
they need to make informed choices and decisions."
Eisner
chaired the Alzheimer Society's Task Force on Ethics
consisting of family caregivers and experts from the
medical, legal, research, ethics, nursing and caregiving
communities across Canada. Last year, the Task Force
drafted eight guidelines then distributed them nationally
for community input. "The response was overwhelming.
We heard from 550 family members, ethics groups, health
care professionals and researchers across Canada," says
Eisner.
The
resulting set of ethical guidelines covers: Communicating
the Diagnosis; Driving; Decisions: Respecting Individual
Choice; Quality of Life; Participation in Research; Genetic
Testing; The Use of Restraints; and End-of-Life Care.
The guidelines are available from local Alzheimer Societies
across Canada and are posted on the Alzheimer Society
of Canada's Web site at www.alzheimer.ca in the Care
section.
The
Task Force on Ethics is continuing its work developing
an advance directive (also known as a living will) for
people with Alzheimer's disease.
The
Alzheimer Society of Canada's 19th annual conference
continues until April 19. It is sponsored, in part, by
Health Canada, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Pfizer
Canada Inc.
Back
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