Dignity is one of the most sophisticated and complex terms of moral philosophy. Respecting and preserving the dignity of people who are in non-transient need of health care is a normative postulation, derived from the assignment that society gives to the health care sector. If an individual's dignity is to be upheld, health-care personnel need to have the right attitude and kind of understanding. Upholding the dignity of people who do not gain respect as a matter of course, however, implies a mandate for society as a whole, and not just for the health care profession.
Staffers working in case and care continuously have to make moral judgments and decisions. The actions of this profession have wide-ranging consequences, not only for people in need of care, but also for society. In addition, the ongoing developments in the different societies and the medical and technical sector raise ethical questions that impact case and care. This is especially true for geriatric long-term care, where ethical challenges are particularly demanding due to the specific nature of this branch of medicine. Case and care must promote its point of view within the context of the interdisciplinary dialogue on ethics in the health care system. Elaborating case and care ethics is therefore essential. Reconciling care ethics with practice in care asks for a gearing towards decent objectives and values as well as continual reflexion on general social conditions.
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