The Interdependence of the Rights of Underage Patients. Results from a Quantitative Research

The present study is based on research the first author’s PhD research.We have focused on issues connected to the situation of children in need of medical care.The issue under scrutiny, the welfare of ailing children, has also been in the focus of European health policies, with the aim of basing children’s health care on principles afforded by their rights.In the introduction, the authors insist on the existence and importance of the connection between health, health care and children’s rights, after which they present the main categories of rights they benefit from.As research method, the authors have adopted a strategy of data gathering concerning the attitudes of all involved in the actions of ensuring children’s health: medical staff, parents and the children themselves.Data gathering took place between November 2011 and March 2012, a period in which a total of 600 surveys had been completed, with convenience sampling: 200 for medical staff, 200 for parents and 200 for their children.One of the results of the aforementioned study was demonstrating the interdependence of the different underage patient rights.This is based on the complementary character of human rights, meaning that exercising a certain right involves understanding and respecting other rights and freedoms.It has been determined that self-determination is the main category of rights out of the set of rights analyzed, this being the central topic of the perceptions of all involved with regard to respecting children’s rights.

Keywords: underage patient, health rights, interdependence of rights