Children's Rights Bisogni, S., Aringhieri, C., McGreevy, K., Olivini, N., Gonzalez Lopez, J., Ciofi, D., . . . Festini, F. (2015). Actual implementation of sick children's rights in Italian pediatric units: a descriptive study based on nurses' perceptions.. BMC Medical Ethics, 16(1), 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12910-015-0021-0

Europe has issued numerous children's rights charters for solemnly proclaiming their rights during hospitalization. However, despite such general proclamations, whether the rights of hospitalized kids are actually put into practice remains unclear. This study's aim was determining the extent to which their rights, as decreed by two key, current child rights charters, are really implemented and recognized in the pediatric facilities of Italy, and in pediatric divisions of general hospitals in Italy, according to the perception of nurses employed in those healthcare centers. The cross-sectional research employed a 12-item web-based questionnaire; researchers emailed invitations to pediatric nurses employed in Italian hospitals using social networks and professional mailing lists. Responders had to score the extent to which individual rights are obeyed in their work setting on a 1-5 scale (1= never; 5= always). Most nurses indicated that the right to relief from pain is the most crucial. There were considerable differences observed in the execution of rights between different regions of Italy as well as between general hospitals' pediatric divisions and pediatric hospitals. Pediatric nurses were of the view that implementation of hospitalized children's rights in pediatrics divisions in the country is limited up to now. An inadequate implementation of ailing children's rights in pediatric divisions' actual organizational and clinical practice can result in adverse consequences on hospitalized children's QOL (quality of life), as well as the QOL of their families. However, the study enabled researchers to generate previously-unavailable data that could aid decision-makers in taking steps to enhance execution of some of the rights of kids hospitalized at pediatric general hospital wards and pediatric healthcare centers in the country.

Critique

The above work represents a research article wherein authors attempted to ascertain how far children's rights are observed in the course of their stay at hospitals. The authors developed a questionnaire targeted at pediatric nurses in Italy. Most nurses claimed that pain relief was the most crucial right. Their responses indicated that hospitalized children's rights in Italy remain limited.

Authors'...

(2011). The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on First Nations Child Welfare: Why if Canada wins, equality and justice lose. In Children and Youth Services Review, 33(1), 187-194. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.09.002.
It has been proven by repeated reports that children of First Nations on reserve enjoy lesser child welfare support compared to other Canadian children, in spite of the former having higher welfare needs. Following the failure of the Canadian Government to come up with two common solutions for addressing the gap, First Nations groups in the nation lodged a human rights grievance claiming that the Canadian Government was displaying discriminatory behavior towards First Nations kids based on ethnicity and race. Currently, this important case is before the CHRT (Canadian Human Rights Tribunal). For the very first time in Canadian history, the government has been condemned in front of a legal agency for the way it is currently treating First Nations and their kids. The above opinion article portrays the facts that preceded and triggered the lodging of the case, the legal processes and grassroots advocacy, following the complaint's filing, and consequences for: minority communities, First Nations kids, and Canada's moral fabric, if the case was ruled in the Government's favor.

Critique

This paper is in the form of an opinion essay that conveys the events that led up to case filing, the legal processes and grassroots advocacy that followed, and the repercussions for: children of First Nations people, other minority communities, and the nation's moral fabric, were the case to be decided in favor of the Canadian Government.

Authors' Position

The authors' stance is depicted clearly in the statement that children of First Nations on reserve enjoy lesser child welfare support compared to other Canadian children and are subject to inequality and discrimination at the Canadian Government's hands.

Substantiation of Authors' Position

The standpoint of the authors is substantiated by a number of reports,…