Ethical issues in family care of older persons with dementia: implications for family therapists.

Despite a considerable literature on family care of the elderly, comparatively little attention has been devoted to the ethical dimensions of caring for frail and dependent older family members. Nor is there an extensive literature available to guide family therapists or others in the helping professions who work with families experiencing ethical dilemmas and issues associated with caring for elderly loved ones. The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the ethical dilemmas families face in caring for an elderly loved one, and to identify several ethical principles that can be used to address these dilemmas. There is an explicit focus on families caring for aged parents afflicted with a dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.