Children's consent to treatment: using a scale to assess degree of self-determination

I Runeson, G Elander, Göran Hermerén, Inger Hallström

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Discussion and debate regarding decision-making that is 'in the best interest of the child' and that also considers the child's voice in these decisions have increased in recent years. A study was undertaken to identify everyday situations in medical and nursing care in which children had been allowed to have a voice or been denied the right. Twenty-six hospitalized children, ages 6 to 17 years, and 21 parents were interviewed concerning their experiences with hospitalization. The interviews contained examples of 100 situations in which the children could have had a say in decisions concerning their care and treatment. An instrument describing five levels of self-determination was used to analyze the situations. The results showed that there are situations in the daily care of children who are hospitalized where it is possible to discuss the degree of self-determination of the child. To different degrees, staff members honored children's choices in questions concerning their own health.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)455
JournalPediatric nursing
Volume26
Issue number5
Publication statusPublished - 2000

Bibliographical note

The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.
The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Nursing (Closed 2012) (013065000), Department of Medical Ethics (013230023)

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Medical Ethics
  • Nursing

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