Interprofessional ethics in rehabilitation: the dreamcatcher journey.

In 2003, we led a working conference on leadership in ethics education for physical therapy and occupational therapy entitled, "Dreamcatchers and the Common Good: Allied Health Leadership in Generational Health and Ethics." The institute brought together 25 leaders in ethics education in physical therapy and occupational therapy for a 3-day working conference of experts. In this paper, we discuss our work as part of an interdisciplinary community of ethics educators who have been grappling with ethics education in rehabilitation over the last 7 years.

In-home monitoring of persons with dementia: ethical guidelines for technology research and development.

Innovative technologies are rapidly emerging that offer caregivers the support and means to assist older adults with cognitive impairment to continue living "at home." Technology research and development efforts applied to older adults with dementia invoke special grant review and institutional review board concerns, to ensure not only safe but also ethically appropriate interventions. Evidence is emerging, however, that tensions are growing between innovators and reviewers.

Complexities in decision making for persons with disabilities nearing end of life.

Good end-of-life care requires that clinicians, families, and ethicists be aware of biases that influence patient cases, particularly in the acute care setting where the aim is primarily cure and return to optimal functional level. Persons with disabilities may pose unique challenges; their potential for quality of life is viewed through the lens of highly functional clinicians who might have a biased view of the disabled person's quality of life. The authors aim to present three categories of disability that do not claim to be absolute but rather offer clinicians and ethicists a lens through which to reflect on bias that unconsciously may influence their approach to the patient who is seriously ill and may be nearing the end of life.

Is the use of placebo controls ethically permissible in clinical trials of agents intended to reduce fractures in osteoporosis?

Substantial progress has been made in developing treatments that reduce the risk of fractures in osteoporosis. However, available treatments are only partially effective, they are not widely used, and there is need to search for more effective means of fracture prevention. Currently known effective means of reducing fractures were found using randomized placebo-controlled trials.