Abstract
■ Decisions about children are often justified as being in the child's best interests
■ Health care professionals must ensure that the views of children are considered when planning their care
■ Decisions about a child's care should reflect the child's wishes and the family's value system
■ To do this, the health care professional needs knowledge of child development and family dynamics, assessment skills, and interpersonal skills
■ Children's autonomy can be preserved if they participate in making decisions with those seeking their long term good
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Bandman EL
,
Bandman B.
(1990 ). Nursing ethics through the life span . London : Prentice-Hall .
2.
Beattie J.
(1992 ). The nature of professional child abuse . British Journal of Nursing;
1 : 432 .
3.
Beauchamp TL
(1991 ). Philosophic ethics: an introduction to moral philosophy . 2 nd edn. New York : McGraw-Hill .
4.
Bramlett MH
,
Gueldner SH
,
Sowell RL
(1990 ). Consumer-centric advocacy: its connection to nursing frameworks . Nursing Science Quarterly;
3 : 156 -161 .
5.
Bristow Ott B.
,
Nieswaidomy RM
(1991 ). Support of patient autonomy in the do not resuscitate decision . Heart and Lung;
20 : 66 -74 .
6.
Dunphy K.
(1993 ). Euthanasia: fact, fear and fantasy . British Journal of Nursing;
2 : 1050 -1052 .
7.
Ellis P.
(1996 ). Exploring the concept of acting 'in the patient's best interests'
British Journal of Nursing;
5 : 1072 -1074 .
8.
Gillick v West Norfolk and Wisbech Area Health Authority, 1986. AC 112.
9.
Hmso.
(1989 ). The children act . London : HMSO .
10.
Jones H.
(1996 ). Autonomy and paternalism: partners or rivals ? British Journal of Nursing;
5 : 378 -381 .
11.
Kohlberg L.
(1968 ). Moral development . In
Sill DL
, ed. International encyclopedia of the social sciences . New York : Macmillan .
12.
Lansdown G.
(1993 ). Children's status in the UK . Primary Health Care;
3 (10 ): 12 -13 .
13.
Lee T.
( 1989 ). Patient information; the key to increased autonomy . Professional Nurse;
5 : 43 -47 .
14.
Luke S.
,
Tingle J.
(1995 ). Children: parental responsibility . British Journal of Nursing;
4 : 847 .
15.
Marsden C.
(1990 ). Real presence . Heart and Lung;
19 : 540 -541 .
16.
McCormack B.
(1993 ). How to promote quality of care and preserve patient autonomy . British Journal of Nursing;
2 : 338 -341 .
17.
Neighbour R.
(1992 ). Paternalism or autonomy . The Practitioner;
236 : 860 -864 .
18.
O'Donnell M.
(1993 ). How to enable staff to empower patients . Nursing Standard;
8 (18 ): 38 -38 .
19.
Piaget J.
(1969 ). The theory of stages in cognitive development . New York : McGraw-Hill .
20.
Rose P.
( 1995 ). Best interests: a concept analysis and its implications for ethical decision-making in nursing . Nursing Ethics;
2 : 149 -160 .
21.
Royal College of Nursing.
(1995 ). Advocacy and the Nurse. Issues in Nursing and Health Series, No 22 . London : Royal College of Nursing .
22.
Shah R.
( 1994 ). Practice with attitude: questions on cultural awareness training . Child Health;
1 : 245 -249 .
23.
Tribe D.
,
Korgaonkar G.
(1993 ). Withdrawing medical treatment: implications of the Bland case . British Journal of Nursing;
2 : 84 -86 .
24.
Ukcc.
(1992 ). Code of professional conduct . London : UKCC .
25.
Walker LO
,
Avant KC
(1988 ). Strategies for theory construction in nursing . 2 nd edn. Norwalk, Connecticut : Appleton and Lange. JCHC