The Law and Older Persons: Is Geriatric Jurisprudence Therapeutic?

Therapeutic Jurisprudence (TJ) is a way of exploring the ways in which the law in practice (as opposed to theory) can exert positive or negative effects on real people in actual situations. This book applies the inquiries of TJ to the areas of geriatrics and gerontology, focusing on facets of laws pertaining specifically to older persons in the United States.

Through a series of thoroughly referenced chapters, mixing analytic discussion and case examples, Kapp asks such questions as: Is legal involvement and intervention in the lives of older persons a good thing for both the intended beneficiaries and society as a whole? What is therapeutic jurisprudence and why is it relevant to older Americans? What is the intent of the laws pertaining to older persons in such contexts as nursing home and home health care regulation; end-of-life medical decision-making; regulation of research involving older persons as human subjects; the role of consumer choice and control for older persons in selecting among health plans and directing their own long term care; guardianship and other interventions for the incapacitated aged; employment; retirement; age discrimination; and the professional liability tort system? Most importantly, when regulation fails, what are our best alternatives as advocates for the elderly, and for our future selves?