The parent between the child and the professional--some ethical implications

In this paper ethical implications of parental participation in paediatric care are discussed. The paper is based on interviews with 20 parents, whose children were admitted and operated on at a paediatric surgery department in Sweden. In one part of the interview the parent was invited to speak about situations experienced as problematic during the hospitalization. Three different types of situations were described by the parents as especially problematic. In the first situation the parents' ability to influence their own situation was limited. Parents got upset when staff did not treat them as autonomous persons. In the second type of situation things 'had to be done' to the child, for example the surgery, the anaesthesia, removing an indwelling catheter and giving an enema. The parents understood and accepted this, but the child was sometimes unable to agree usually because of anxiety and fear. In the third type of situation parents felt that professionals did not take them or their child seriously. In order to avoid or alleviate such situations, the professionals ought to mediate a permissive attitude to the expressions of concern. Thus, when the parents worry, the professionals ought to listen more attentively and, whenever possible and adequate, respect their concerns.