Ethical Issues and Value Conflicts Faced by Japanese Care Workers in Geriatric Care: A Qualitative Study

IF 1.1 Q4 GERONTOLOGY

Ageing International Pub Date : 2025-08-11 DOI:10.1007/s12126-025-09612-0

Mari Tsuruwaka

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Involvement of Care workers in geriatric care is essential; few studies have identified the ethical issues faced by Care workers compared to medical professionals. This study aimed to clarify the ethical issues faced by Care workers engaged in geriatric care in Japan, the value conflicts among other professionals and their causes, and to obtain suggestions on how to address ethical issues. A qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews using a descriptive approach. Forty-eight Care workers (18 men and 30 women) worked in geriatric care facilities etc. Narrative research methods and thematic analyses were used to analyze the data. Ethical issues related to the principle of respect for autonomy; beneficence, and non-maleficence; and justice were identified. Characteristically, ethical issues arose in daily life and were related to the “routinization” and “regularity”. Value conflict among other professionals was characterized by the conflict between the Care workers’ emphasis on the independence and quality of life of older people and the medical professionals’ emphasis on prolonging life and treatment. The reason behind this conflict was that care workers ware positioned at the lowest level of all care providers. The results suggest that focusing on “everyday ethics” in care settings can clarify the causes of ethical issues and provide insights for addressing them.

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日本老年护理工作者面临的伦理问题与价值冲突：一项质的研究

护理工作者参与老年护理至关重要；很少有研究表明，与医疗专业人员相比，护理工作者面临的道德问题。本研究旨在厘清日本从事老年护理的护理工作者所面临的伦理问题、与其他专业人员之间的价值冲突及其原因，并为如何解决伦理问题提供建议。一项定性研究是通过半结构化访谈使用描述性的方法进行的。48名护理人员（18名男性和30名女性）在老年护理设施等工作。采用叙事研究方法和专题分析方法对数据进行分析。与尊重自治原则有关的伦理问题；善意和非恶意；正义得到了确认。伦理问题的特点是在日常生活中产生，并与“常规化”和“规律性”有关。其他专业人员之间的价值观冲突的特征是护理工作者强调老年人的独立性和生活质量与医疗专业人员强调延长生命和治疗之间的冲突。这种冲突背后的原因是护理工作者在所有护理提供者中处于最低水平。结果表明，关注护理环境中的“日常伦理”可以澄清伦理问题的原因，并为解决这些问题提供见解。

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来源期刊

Ageing International GERONTOLOGY-

CiteScore

2.70

自引率

6.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： As a quarterly peer-reviewed journal that has existed for over three decades, Ageing International serves all professionals who deal with complex ageing issues. The journal is dedicated to improving the life of ageing populations worldwide through providing an intellectual forum for communicating common concerns, exchanging analyses and discoveries in scientific research, crystallizing significant issues, and offering recommendations in ageing-related service delivery and policy making. Besides encouraging the submission of high-quality research and review papers, Ageing International seeks to bring together researchers, policy analysts, and service program administrators who are committed to reducing the ''implementation gap'' between good science and effective service, between evidence-based protocol and culturally suitable programs, and between unique innovative solutions and generalizable policies. For significant issues that are common across countries, Ageing International will organize special forums for scholars and investigators from different disciplines to present their regional perspectives as well as to provide more comprehensive analysis. The editors strongly believe that such discourse has the potential to foster a wide range of coordinated efforts that will lead to improvements in the quality of life of older persons worldwide. Abstracted and Indexed in: ABI/INFORM, Academic OneFile, Academic Search, CSA/Proquest, Current Abstracts, EBSCO, Ergonomics Abstracts, Expanded Academic, Gale, Google Scholar, Health Reference Center Academic, OCLC, PsychINFO, PsyARTICLES, SCOPUS, Social Science Abstracts, and Summon by Serial Solutions.