Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Child Healthcare

Paediatricians, and associated professionals, are faced with innumerable social, personal and ethical problems surrounding the care of children and adolescents in everyday practice. There is therefore a need to have accessible up-to-date information on various topics that concern the everyday practice of paediatricians both in the hospital and community setting.

Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Child Healthcare aims to assist towards this end by providing a series of succinct articles addressing many key areas of debate and concern. Closely aimed at supporting the practitioner with regards to his or her responsibilities towards the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the book is carefully divided into discrete sections that address social issues (which includes child protection), disability, and legal and ethical matters. Key topics for discussion include the influence of deprivation on emotional development, non-accidental injury, the impact of parental conflict on child development, delinquency, and drug misuse. The specific role of the paediatrician in differing areas is also explored, including the influence towards reducing the effects of social disadvantage on children, in the promotion of helpful parenting, and in the provision of bereavement support. Ethical discussions include the withdrawal of neonatal intensive care, prioritising services in a resource-limited environment, and genetic testing of families.

Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Child Healthcare is prepared by acknowledged experts in the field, and is a valuable addition to the library collection of any child-health professional.