Later-Life Sexuality · Clinical Exercise

Both Obligations

Two residents, one incident report, and a restriction that was imposed before anyone was consulted. The default in this area looks like caution and is a decision taken on someone else’s behalf.

What this exercise practises

Holding the two obligations the chapter sets side by side, a resident’s right to intimacy and their protection from harm, in a situation where they pull in opposite directions and where the institution has already removed most of the conditions intimacy requires.

This exercise does not supply a legal test for capacity. Standards vary across jurisdictions and facilities hold their own policies, and both govern your practice rather than anything here.

Estimated time to complete this exercise: 30 minutes

1The report
2Capacity
3The daughter
4The environment
5The plan
6Close

Before you begin

How this one works

One situation, developed across five parts. It is the hardest case in the module and it does not resolve to a rule.
This exercise does not give you a legal test for capacity. Standards vary by jurisdiction and facilities have their own policies, and both of those govern your practice rather than anything here.
The default position in this area is prohibition, and the chapter is explicit that the default carries its own cost. Several of the wrong answers work by making a restriction look like caution.
Nothing is graded and nothing you type leaves your browser. The writing at the end is optional.

The clinical task the chapter sets is to hold two obligations at the same time: this person’s right to intimacy, and their protection from harm. The exercise is about what that looks like when they pull in opposite directions.

References

  1. DeLamater, J., & Moorman, S. M. (2007). Sexual behavior in later life. Journal of Aging and Health, 19(6), 921–945. https://doi.org/10.1177/0898264307308342
  2. Gott, M., & Hinchliff, S. (2003). How important is sex in later life? The views of older people. Social Science & Medicine, 56(8), 1617–1628. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00180-6
  3. World Health Organization. (2006). Defining sexual health: Report of a technical consultation on sexual health, 28–31 January 2002, Geneva. World Health Organization.