2019, Cilt 6, Sayı 2, Sayfa(lar) 129-134
The Informed Consent in Children
Ayşe AY1, Sevil ÇINAR2, Handan BOZTEPE3
1Hacettepe Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, Ankara Türkiye
2Hacettepe Üniversitesi Hemşirelik Fakültesi Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği Anabilim Dalı, Ankara Türkiye
3Çocuk Sağlığı ve Hastalıkları Hemşireliği, Ankara Türkiye
Keywords: Child, ethics, informed consent, pediatric nursing

Informed consent is defined as the process for people with decision-making competence to declare decision without being under any pressure after they have received and perceived the information about diagnosis and treatment methods and the benefits and risks of other practices that may be an alternative. It is becoming increasingly important for children to be informed about medical initiatives and receive their approval. In the current legal regulations, the authority to give consent is granted to individuals who are accepted as adults with the legal age limit. This can be conflict with the awareness of the autonomous entity of the child who is in vulnerable groups. The thoughts of children with discrimination power must also be considered in decisions jointly with parents. It is an indispensable ethical obligation for health personnel to make children whose cognitive status is adequate be included in the decision-making process. Moreover, children participation in the medical decision-making process also improves the communication between health personnel, parents and children. In order for pediatric nurses to increase the quality of care and to be aware of legal responsibilities, it is essential to adopt this notion that has gained importance in recent years for advocacy role of patient rights with great importance.