Societal perspectives on medical decision making in minors.

In this project, we will study the specific complexities of medical decision-making regarding minor patients. According to Belgian law, a minor who is capable of a reasonable assessment of their situation can exercise their patient rights autonomously. This implies that the minor can make independent decisions and is entitled to physician-patient confidentiality, even when their parents disagrees. At present, however, there is no legal or societal basis on which to base this maturity assessment. This oftens leads to problems in daily clinical practice. We will combine and integrate the specific expertise from medical doctors, legal scholars, biomedical ethicists, academic psychologists and sociologists to study the individual, familial and societal implications of the legal framework in Belgium, the Netherlands and some selected EU member states. The research will be in co-design and co-creation with stakeholders such as parents, adolescents, patient groups, medical associations and child health advocacy organizations.

Keywords:medical decision making, medical law, family law, parenting styles and dimensions, family composition, pediatrics

Disciplines:Paediatrics, Comparative law, Family law, Bioethics, Family studies, Family and household studies