Research Ethics & Policy Series: Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN

The Research Ethics & Policy Series presents:

Ethical Considerations in Research with Older Adults

Speaker

Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN
Chief, Division of Medical Ethics
Associate Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy
University of Pennsylvania

About the Talk

Many older adults experience fragmented, poor quality, and high-cost care that fails to address adequately their needs and those of their care partners. There is a clear need for evidence to support the adoption of interventions and services that improve their wellbeing and extend their independence as long as possible. Yet, even as the population ages, older adults continue to be underrepresented in research.

In this talk, we will identify various ethical and practical challenges that arise when including older adults in research. We will characterize why older adults can be more difficult to recruit and to retain, as well as ways to account for this. Further, though older adults are not necessarily vulnerable, many are. Sources of vulnerability can include cognitive impairment, which affects the ability to give informed consent, as well as being dependent on others to complete activities of daily living, which can affect the voluntariness of consent. We’ll discuss how to identify and address sources of vulnerability. We will also describe health disparities within the population of older adults and consider how this should inform research.