Living Their Best Lives

Home care professionals have an ethical obligation to promote justice for their patients. Promotion of justice in the home care setting requires thoughtful consideration as patients are situated within a complex context where their health and quality of life are influenced by a myriad of factors. Like most people, individuals receiving home care are living their daily lives and are generally focused on priorities other than, though perhaps dependent on, their personal health. They should be able to live their best lives, and home care interventions and goals need to account for this. A resource-centered approach to justice fails to fully account for individuals' unique needs. Instead, I argue for use of a capabilities approach to justice. This approach offers a framework for developing and delivering care that promotes justice, accounts for disability considerations, and promotes equity. In the home care setting, a capabilities approach to justice can ensure person-centered care and advance justice.