Family caregivers and the ethical relevance of moral identity.

ABSTRACT

Many people want to spend the last stages of their lives at home, in familiar surroundings, and possibly with people they know. However, this increasing desire on the part of older, ill, or even dying people also makes support from other people unavoidable, which in many cases involves family members, loved ones, or even friends. These family caregivers care for the person concerned, even though they lack the professional skills of nursing staff, for example, and have usually not been prepared for this task. This article focuses on the ethical significance of the moral identity of family caregivers. While the effects of this care constellation on the caregivers have often been discussed in the scientific literature, ethical considerations regarding moral identity have so far been neglected. In the first step, the question of what is actually meant by the term moral identity is examined. The second step shifts attention to those people who have taken on the care of a loved one. The relevance of this previously discussed identity is emphasized by using study results and work in this context, and placed in relation to family caregivers. The third step shows that (1) moral identity must be understood as a necessary prerequisite for adequate and humane care, (2) this identity can be enhanced through the caregiving relationship, and (3) the activities undertaken by family caregivers reveal their moral identity. These considerations are finally summarized, provided with ethical aspects, and awareness of this important work of family caregivers is raised.