GENERAL VIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT REGARDING THE RIGHTS OF CHILD PATIENTS
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF KNOWLEDGE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT REGARDING THE RIGHTS OF CHILD PATIENTS

Summary/Abstract: This paper is a synthesis of research carried out within the author’s doctorate studies in an interdisciplinary field: psycho-sociology, law and medicine. The main topic has focused on the situation of children in need of medical care. The author’s purpose was to identify the needs of underage patients and the persisting problems in this area. Analyzing the achievement of children’s right may contribute to an increase in social responsibility towards their medical care. The research encompassed several counties in Romania and used surveys, document studies and interviews. The sample comprised 200 persons in health care, 200 parents and 200 children who had experienced medical examinations and illness plus a control group of 151 scholars – including a total of 751 persons. The author presents a schematic layout of research directions and is summarizing the judicial norms that make up the legal framework. The personal perceptions of the concerned people - mentioned above - are also resumed. With regard to the circumstances of hospitalization, it was found that because of lack of funds and sustained attention to special care for children, optimal hospitalization conditions cannot be ensured. Hospitals are unevenly equipped at the level of localities. The health insurance system is incapable of ensuring subsidized medication for children in need, thus it does not function efficiently. The human factor (doctors and the rest of the staff) tries to meet expectations, thus compensating for deficiencies, but the classic view in which they focus on the disease without giving attention to the personality factor is predominant. In conclusion the author is highlighting some possibilities of improving underage patient’s general health-care condition: On the one hand, there is a need for a paradigm shift, i.e. the progressive switchover from focusing on treating illness to increasingly taking into account the personality of the patient, and on the other hand, there is a need to change the way of communicating with underage patients, respecting the idiosyncrasies of their age.

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