[calli Rosin]

#88892

Dignity is presented in many shapes and sizes, and is imperative that all people are shown dignity throughout their lives. Dignity refers to the emotional, physical and spiritual well being of all patients no matter their age.
Dignity in the paediatric population seems to be forgotten about in some aspects, as the team will communicate with the family instead of directly with the child- who ultimately is in charge of their own bodies. dignity in the paediatric realm refers to: respecting the childs autonomy and involving them in all the decision making as well as respecting their wants and needs. Ensuring privacy and confidentiality at all times which includes not humiliating them when they are being washed/changed etc, it is important to respect their bodies as well as making sure they are comfortable with you doing what needs to be done by getting the patients consent. it is about engaging them in tasks that are relevant to them, and build their self esteem – not break it even further. its about discussing what you will be doing with the child, to the child before hand and evaluating if they are happy to participate. Unfortunately many health care providers and sometimes even families – disregard to needs and wants of the child and often do not even ask for their input – this means something is being done to them, not with them. The children have a right to be involved in all decision making processes unless the child is non communicative and do not have the cognitive capacity to make decisions for themselves – then the parents need to advocate for the child and make sure the childs dignity is being considered and preserved.

[Tracy]

#88954

Great discussion Calli! You really highlight so many aspects of how we disregard children in our every day work! There is a great book out by Alistair McAlpine ( he did the Post grad paedaitric palliative care diploma with me) called PERSCRIPTION: Ice Cream – A doctor’s journey to Discover What Matters where there are so many instances in his story that elude to the how patients generally are not treated with respect lack of dignity and in part 3 he delves into his work in with PaedsPal and how he began to understand what it meant to treat children with respect and dignity according to their specific needs! Worth a read….

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