Children's perspective on their right to participate in decision-making according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 12

Abstract

Aims: According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 12, children have a right to express their views. However, knowledge on how children with a disability perceive this right and the extent to which they would like to access this right is unclear. The aim of this study was to describe and capture the meaning of children's perspective on their right to participate in decision-making together with the children's lived experiences in pediatric rehabilitation. Methods: A phenomenological hermeneutical research design was applied for gathering the thoughts and lived experiences of seven children with different disabilities through individual interviews and observations. Results: The children expressed satisfaction with participation being limited to less important decisions. This may be understood as lack of experience with participation in decision-making or an inherent wish of becoming like peers and therefore viewing therapists as experts of a normalization process. Conclusions: Health care professionals should consider informing the child of the possibility of decision-making and for negotiating power-sharing and responsibility concerning decisions in pediatric rehabilitation.

”Det er godt sådan i det hele taget at kunne sige, hvad man vil og ikke vil” – Børn med funktionshæmning og deres refleksioner omkring deltagelse og indflydelse på eget liv

“…I et studie fra 2015 blev syv børn med funktionshaemning i alderen 7-14 år interviewet individuelt omkring deres oplevelse af deltagelse i beslutningsprocesser i forhold til deres eget habiliteringsforløb (Andersen og Dolva 2015). Til forskel fra andre studier, hvor børn med funktionshaemning ikke inddrages nok i beslutninger, var de deltagende børn i dette studie alle enten tilfredse med eller accepterede, at deres indflydelse var begraenset til mindre beslutninger.…”

“…(Coyne 2008;Franklin og Sloper 2009). Børnenes begraensning af handlerum på grund af behandling, hvilket børnene forstod i ønsket om at få det bedre, samsvarer med konklusionen i studiet af Andersen og Dolva (2015). Dette betyder imidlertid ikke, at den manglende retslige anerkendelse er uproblematisk for børnene, hvilket de også giver udtryk for.…”

Issues in Implementing Family Centred Care in Pediatrics and New Approaches

“…59 Birleşmiş Milletler Çocuk Hakları Sözleşmesi'nde de her çocuğun otonomi, saygı görme ve bilgilendirilmiş karar verme hakkı olduğu vurgulanmaktadır. 61,62 Yasal olarak çocuk hakkında ebeveynler karar vermekle birlikte, çocuklar yeterliliklerine göre kendi bakımı ve tedavisi ile ilgili kararlara katılmaktadırlar. Ancak, onların kendi bakımlarına ilişkin kararlara katılmaları sıklıkla ebeveynlerin ve sağlık ekibinin tutumlarına bağlıdır.…”

Active particiation of university students in defending rights of children

“…At present, the social, economic, and political environments that children live in and develop are being recognized as the most important actual determinants of child health. To improve the well-being of children, ensuring children's rights and use of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) are the most efficient tools available [1,2]. The convention included civil, economic, social, cultural, and political rights of children all of which covered survival, development, protection, and participation.…”

“…Furthermore professional care takers are schooled and trained towards a protective attitude and in 'knowing what's best' for the youngsters. For those who work with children in the health service and/or in justice system, there is no escaping the fact that the responsibility of ensuring the rights of children as established in the convention rests with us [2,4,6].…”