Research Ethics Issues in Geriatric Psychiatry

With an aging population and with the prevalence of psychiatric illness in the older population expected to rise dramatically in coming decades, advances in geriatric psychiatry research are urgently needed. Ethical issues in the design, conduct, and monitoring of research involving older adults parallel the same issues as related to human subjects research generally. However, a number of special issues relevant to geriatric psychiatry research merit further discussion. These special issues include: the assessment of capacity in populations where cognitive disorders are more prevalent; the role of surrogate decision makers; the legal status of surrogate consent; the use of advanced directives for research participation; and research involving suicidal individuals.