Even the most well-meaning people sometimes talk about "keeping our seniors safe" from a variety of possible outcomes, from disease to falls to the dangers of poor diet – as though elders have no autonomy or ability to make decisions on their own.

Zero-tolerance COVID lockdowns have helped to reframe the discussion in recent years, but too often we rob elders of the right to take the same acceptable risks that younger people take every day, from an occasional indulgent meal to attending an indoor party amid an ongoing pandemic.

Liza Behrens, a PhD and registered nurse who serves as an assistant professor at Penn State's Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing, joins "Elevate Eldercare" to discuss her DIGNITY (Decision-making In aGing and demeNtIa for auTonomY) tool for fostering preference-based care, which balances the need for health and safety with the human right to choose.

Learn more about Liza's work in this interview: https://www.preferencebasedliving.com/updates/ask-the-expert/a-risky-preferences-interview-with-dr-liza-behrens/

Explore Liza's research at the links below:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36214738/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32756959/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29355878/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34958744/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6398972/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34039079/

Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org