How children's rights are constructed in family-centred care: A review of the literature

Authors

Margaret Kelly, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network
Susan Jones, University of Sydney
Valerie J. Wilson, The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network, University of Technology Sydney, University of Ulster, Canterbury Christchurch UniversityFollow
Peter Lewis, University of Sydney

RIS ID

117315

Publication Details

Kelly, M., Jones, S., Wilson, V. & Lewis, P. (2012). How children's rights are constructed in family-centred care: A review of the literature. Journal of Child Health Care, 16 (2), 190-205.

Abstract

It appears that the acceptance of children's rights within the acute care setting is treated as a given but such a given requires a more systematic analysis. This has been undertaken here in the form of a review of the literature. The purpose of the review is to explore how children's rights, defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) are recognized in family-centred care in the acute care paediatric setting as reported in the literature. Reports that were available from 1989 to 2010 were reviewed. Children's rights are not mentioned frequently in the literature of interest to children's nurses. What is revealed are the ethical tensions in the challenge to act at all times in children's best interests (in the spirit of Article 3) while giving due weight to their views (in the spirit of Article 12) (OHCHR, 1989). The continuing failure to address these tensions undermines the spirit and practice of family-centred care.