Ethics of Case and Care and its Philosophical Foundations

Staffers working in case and care continuously have to make moral judgements and decisions. The action 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.