Autonomy, Personal Empowerment, and Quality of Life in Long-Term Care

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Abstract
The philosophical principle of autonomy provides a conceptual framework within which an understanding of quality of life for the elderly can be developed. This structure provides the basis for designing interventions to enhance the quality of life of older persons by maintaining their autonomy in spite of long-term care service needs. Such programs should encourage proactive strategies to anticipate and plan for potential health crises, promote empowerment of the elderly, expand knowledge, and clarify personal and familial values regarding service options. Examples of the kinds of programs needed to enhance autonomy in community-based and institutional long-term care settings are presented to illustrate how independence can be supported even under conditions of increasing frailty and service needs. These applied approaches to enhancing personal autonomy give explicit recognition to the importance of ethical concepts in developing and implementing long-term care services to improve the elderly's quality of life.

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