Ethical issues for persons with aphasia and their families

Abstract

Ethical issues frequently arise in the care of patients with aphasia and their families. The family is often the most important group with whom an individual interacts and with whom crucial life decisions are made following brain injury. For individuals with aphasia, who may have trouble understanding information and communicating their wishes, the patient's role and thefamily's rolewith decision making may be particularly complex. This article discusses (a) patient self-determination, (b) evaluation ofthe patient's decision-making capacity, (c) balancing the wishes and needs of families and caregivers with those of individuals with aphasia, and (d) the role of contextual issues in decision making.

Key words:

• aphasia
• decision-making capacity
• ethics
• families
• self-determination