Children,Longitudinal Studies,and Informed Consent

This paper deals with ethical issues of particular relevance to longitudinal research involving children. First some general problems concerning information and lack of understanding are discussed. Thereafter focus is shifted to issues concerning information and consent procedures in studies that include young children growing up to become autonomous persons while the project still runs. Some of the questions raised are: When is it right to include children in longitudinal studies? Is an approval from the child needed? How should information to children be handled? A general point stressed is that autonomy considerations underline the importance of adjusting the information given to meet demands. A “presumption of competence” may be needed in research involving children, in order to pay their views sufficient attention.     

Children’s Agency, Interests, and Medical Consent

In this paper I argue that reference to a developmental account of agency can help explain, and in cases also alter, our current practices when it comes to the non-consensual medical treatment of children. It does this through its explanation of how stages of development impact the types of interests we have.     

The Consent to Treatment Act in a team or multi-facility environment

The Consent to Treatment Act is intended to uphold and protect the right of informed choice for all persons in Ontario. Operationalizing the Act and ensuring the greatest benefit for patients will require collaboration and communication among professionals, the public, agencies and institutions.     

Consent to medical treatment

Obtaining patient consent is good medical practice and a legal necessity. This article examines the duty of general practitioners to obtain consent from patients for medical interventions and outlines the process of obtaining consent.     

Predicting Successful Introduction of Novel Fruit to Preschool Children

BackgroundFew children eat sufficient fruits and vegetables despite their established health benefits. The feeding practices used by parents when introducing novel foods to their children, and their efficacy, require further investigation.ObjectiveWe aimed to establish which feeding strategies parents commonly use when introducing a novel fruit to their preschool-aged children and assess the effectiveness of these feeding strategies on children's willingness to try a novel fruit.DesignCorrelational design.Participants/settingTwenty-five parents and their children aged 2 to 4 years attended our laboratory and consumed a standardized lunch, including a novel fruit. Interactions between parent and child were recorded and coded.Statistical analyses performedPearson's correlations and multiple linear regression analyses.ResultsThe frequency with which children swallowed and enjoyed the novel fruit, and the frequency of taste exposures to the novel fruit during the meal, were positively correlated with parental use of physical prompting and rewarding/bargaining. Earlier introduction of solids was related to higher frequency of child acceptance behaviors. The child's age at introduction of solids and the number of physical prompts displayed by parents significantly predicted the frequency of swallowing and enjoying the novel fruit. Age of introduction to solids and parental use of rewards/bargaining significantly predicted the frequency of taste exposures.ConclusionsPrompting a child to eat and using rewards or bargains during a positive mealtime interaction can help to overcome barriers to novel fruit consumption. Early introduction of solids is also associated with greater willingness to consume a novel fruit.     

Consent to medical treatment: the mature minor

Can children and young people consent to their own medical treatment? Consent issues involving children and young people are complex. This article examines the legal obligations of general practitioners when obtaining consent to medical treatment from patients who are less than 18 years of age.     

Capacity to Consent: Policies and Practices that Limit Sexual Consent for People with Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities

Sexuality and Disability - Consent determination is a common practice that has been championed as a logical approach (Lyden in Sex Disabil 25(1):3–20, 2007) to the sexual activity of...     

A Structurational Analysis of Informed Consent to Treatment: Societal Evolution,Contradiction, and Reproductions in Medical Practice

Informed consent (IC) to treatment enables physician disclosures (e.g., risks, benefits) and shared decisions, and honors patient autonomy and bodily integrity. Unfortunately, litigation and rising physician malpractice insurance suggest a need to reexamine IC. To initiate this, problems plaguing prior studies of IC interaction—lack of discursive and theoretical perspectives, neglect of IC's sociohistorical context—must first be addressed. Structuration theory, which overcomes these problems, guided analyses of IC law, resulting in discovery of three sociohistorical systems of meaning or discourses representing interests that favor different groups' (physicians, states and administrative entities, patients) control of IC's meaning and ideal practice. The article then works toward blending IC's sociohistorical context with struggles in contemporary practice by reexamining the literature on IC interaction for (re)productions of these discourses.