 |
|
Photo: Charter of the Rights of the Child in Hospital
Second Department of Paediatrics, University of Athens |
It was only this week that I took part in my second focus group, this one was held at my children’s school. All those who took part seemed interested and had to peel themselves away to go and meet their children. You may be surprised at my baby steps. There are so many instances where people seek our opinion today via telephone surveys, market research or when visiting a website. We are all consumers and in the surge to capture people’s attitudes it is worth stopping to ask what of those areas where people are under-represented, excluded or brushed aside? A lot surely comes back to who is involved and what kind of collaborative process they are working towards. With a flood of information the buzz seems to be around what to do with it, meaningful evaluation and feedback.
 |
| Photo: Charter of the Rights of the Child in Hospital Second Department of Paediatrics, University of Athens |
The care of children in healthcare, like any other area, faces flat-lining budgets and administrators’ scrutiny. Many argue it is still important to look at children themselves and engage with them regarding their healthcare journey. Child friendly services and economic considerations can combine. I have compiled a bibliography with a selection of resources on children’s participation. Key points about children’s and youth participation described are what it means both generally, in the healthcare environment and for healthcare design. The information touches on the significance of children’s participation for individuals, collectively and as a future imperative. Children’s participation is described not as a single event but as an ongoing process. Evaluation looks at some examples of best practice, literature reviews, models and research studies. There are also links to projects where value has been enhanced through children’s participation and work that points to benefits of children’s participation.
 |
| Photo: Charter of the Rights of the Child in Hospital Second Department of Paediatrics, University of Athens |
The Charter of Rights of the Child in Hospital, Greece, simply puts it in child-friendly terms “I have the right to participate in improvement of the Hospital”. Referring to article 12 United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, “we will ask you what services you need”, “we will seek your opinion on the design/planning of services, we will ask your opinion about the context of health programmes”.
The Children’s Hospital Australasia, CHA, partnered with Association for the Wellbeing of Children in Healthcare, AWCH, to produce the Charter on the Rights of Children and Young People in Healthcare Services in Australia. The Charter outlines 11 rights of children in healthcare, including the right to be involved and participate. Children should not be brushed aside.
The selected bibliography with current* links to information is entitled “C is for children’s and youth participation – who is involved?”. It has been compiled because this is an area where definitions can be many and varied and database searching is not easy. It is another aspect of AWCH’s advocacy work on patient and family centred care.
Link to some AWCH library resources on:
 |
| Photo: Charter of the Rights of the Child in Hospital Second Department of Paediatrics, University of Athens |
Jillian Rattray
AWCH librarian
library.awch.org.au
October 2014
(*current at the time of posting)
