WCM-Q discusses law and ethics of care for older people

The ethical and legal issues related to care for older people were explored at the latest installment of Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar’s (WCM-Q) Intersection of Law & Medicine series.

Convening online, a panel of expert speakers discussed international best practices on protecting and enhancing the care and wellbeing of older persons, and the current legal and policy approaches concerning the care of older persons in the Middle East. They also identified shortcomings in the provision of care for older people within existing frameworks and outlined strategies for improving the wellbeing of older people in Qatar.

The event, titled ‘Older Persons' Care and Wellbeing: Legal & Policy Approaches to Protecting the Vulnerable,’ was coordinated and delivered by WCM-Q’s Division of Continuing Professional Development in collaboration with the College of Law at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).

The event featured as expert speakers Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, professor of clinical medicine & vice dean for academic and curricular affairs at WCM-Q; Dr. Barry Solaiman, assistant professor of law at the College of Law at HBKU; Dr. Hamed Al-Sinawi, senior consultant old age psychiatrist at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Oman; Dr. Suzanne Hammad, an independent research consultant adjunct professor at Northwestern University in Qatar and Georgetown University in Qatar; Dr. Jonathan Herring, professor of law at Oxford University; Dr. Shereen Hussein, professor of health and social care policy at the Department of Health Services Research and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; and Dr. Mani Chandran, who spoke on behalf of Dr. Hanadi Al Hamad, chair of the geriatrics and long-term care department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) and clinical associate professor in the College of Medicine at Qatar University. The course directors were Dr. Thurayya Arayssi and Dr. Barry Solaiman.

Dr. Hammad’s presentation discussed the provision of care for older people and people with dementia in the Gulf region, noting many positives, such as well-developed welfare services, good support for caregivers, and vibrant culture of NGOs advocating for older persons’ care. However, she also noted that drawbacks included occasionally haphazard implementation of care policies, gender biases, problems addressing care outside of the family sphere, and poor regulation of domestic caregivers.

Dr. Hamed Al-Sinawi explained that dementia and care for older people was becoming a more pressing issue in Oman owing to a projected increase in the population of people aged over 60 from 6 percent at present to 20 percent in 2050. This trend has led to an increased interest in research into dementia, he said, and presents opportunities for improving awareness of dementia and training more qualified professionals specialized in caring for older people.

Dr. Chandran, senior consultant geriatric psychiatrist at HMC and a member of the Qatar National Dementia Plan Task Force, said that Qatar is the first Arab nation to have a national dementia plan. The Qatar National Dementia Plan, he explained, has seven work areas: Dementia is one of the priorities of public health; awareness of dementia and understanding it; reducing the risks of dementia; diagnosis of dementia, its treatment, the health care and support; supporting the caregivers of the people with dementia; dementia information systems; dementia-related research and innovation. Regarding the legal position of people with dementia, Dr. Chandran also touched upon stigma and how it can impede provision of care for adults with dementia, and the issue of mental capacity in relation to financial decision-making. Dr. Herring explained that under English law, the Mental Capacity Act is designed to protect the autonomy of individuals and empower people who may lack the capacity to make their own decisions about their finances, care and treatment, while Dr. Hussein noted that a large young population in the region has led to that demographic having significant influence over the policy discourse, and underlined the importance of the role of the family in the Gulf region, both in terms of providing care and facilitating access to care. 

Dr. Solaiman said: “I want to thank all of our speakers for contributing to a highly informative and lively discussion about a complex issue that will become increasingly urgent in the coming years as populations across the region age.”

Dr. Arayssi commented: “Social stigma surrounding dementia is a problem that must be addressed in our region in order to ensure those who need care are able to access it. Raising awareness of this issue is crucially important and I am very grateful to our speakers for sharing their expertise with our audience today.”

The event was accredited locally by the Ministry of Public Health’s Department of Healthcare Professions – Accreditation Section and internationally by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).