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Observance of elderly patients rights in long-term facilities.
HAVRDLÍKOVÁ, Markéta
The topic of this diploma paper is ``The Observance of the Rights of Senior Citizens at Long-Term Care Wards{\crqq}. The growing number of senior citizens brings the increasing number of hospitalized people at wards of long-term (subsequent) care. The paper focuses on the observance of seniors{\crq} rights by the attending staff at these wards. It is divided into two sections {--} a theoretical one and a practical one. The theoretical section describes patients{\crq} rights in relation to ethics. It develops the Ethics Codex of Patients{\crq} Rights, the European Charter of Senior Patients. It also discusses patients{\crq} rights in relation to the legislature. It deals with individual laws and their observance by the attending staff that is involved in the care of senior citizens at long-term care wards. It describes the duties of the staff based on individual laws. The practical section sets the objectives focusing on finding out about the observance of senior patients{\crq} rights at long-term care wards as seen by general nurses, senior citizens, and family members. It also attempts to find out about the most frequent forms of non-observance of seniors{\crq} rights. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative research survey was used. The techniques of data collection from the senior citizen respondent group included a structured interview, and a questionnaire for the groups consisting of nurses and family members. The survey resulted in the finding that, according to the respondents, (senior) patients{\crq} rights are always, or almost always, observed in most domains. In spite of this, the respondents perceive some problems in the domain of respecting patients{\crq} shyness and attending staff{\crq}s anonymity. Only some members of staff introduce themselves to patients upon their first meeting, and seniors know the names of only a few attending team members. In the course of hospitalization, a senior patient is not only a recipient of care but also a partner to the attending staff. To provide quality nursing care, which is highly emphasized these days, the knowledge of (senior) patients{\crq} rights by attending staff is essential. Only a senior citizen who knows their rights as well as an attending person is able to protect fully the hospitalized seniors{\crq} rights. The results of this diploma paper can be used in seminars, conferences for medical staff to deepen the knowledge of (senior) patients{\crq} rights. Similarly, senior citizens themselves will be made more aware of the rights they have in relation to receiving medical care.
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