Resumo

MORFI SAMPER, Rosa  e  PEREIRA MARQUEZ, Minerva. Aspectos éticos en la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Rev Cubana Enfermer [online]. 2003, vol.19, n.1, pp. 341-360. ISSN 1561-2961.

Individual aging has been present in all periods of social development as a topic of interest for philosophy, art and medicine. However, in modern society, at the beginning of the XXI century, it is observed a singular situation in which persons surpass the chronological barriers man has established as an aging stage, turning population aging into one of the most important challenges for modern society. The importance attained by this population sector demands an increasing moral commitment from health professionals and, in particular, from nurses. A bibliographic review was made to stress the ethical principles ruling the work of the gerontology nurse. The research was carried out from January to July, 2001. The updated national and international literature were reviewed during this period. The ethical principles of nursing connected with the attention to the older adult with Alzheimer's disease were similar. These results show that assistance is needed in the aging process and that the nurse characterized by her humanitarianism fulfills faithfully the ethical principles supporting the nursing practice..

Palavras-chave : ALZHEIMER DISEASE [nursing]; AGING; NURSING CARE; ETHICS, MEDICAL; ETHICS, NURSING; AGED; NURSING, PRACTICAL.