Question

Discuss whether the pediatric assent, dissent, and/or informed consent should be best practice in the United States or not. Provide logic in both situations.

Answer 1

Assent and Dissent are the medical terms which are mainly used in medical field before going through a procedure.

Assent: Aggreeing for a procedure or action that is to be performed over a patient.

Dissent: It indicates disagreeing which is opposite to assent.

This can also be termed as Informed Consent.

Peadiatric Consent/ Assent / Dissent

Child has a full right to give consent or dissent even though they are not competent. They can accept or refuse the treatment in a way they understand either preventive or therapeutic measures.

Paediatric Consent practices in United States.

United States are found to be practicing it in children and also in adolescents.

Decision making evaluation of children is in practice in almost all the hospitals.

They follow American Academy of Paediatric policy .

Steps taken:

• Informing the child about the condition the nature of the disease , diagnostic evaluations and the treatments involved.
• Assessing the decision making capacity of the child.
• Providing freedom to choose alternative medical practices.

Apart from these the child's biological or adoptive parents have the power to consent for the medical care of the child and this cannot be done solely by the parents and the child must be involved in it.

Logic in assent is purely the decision making capacity.

Dissent:

Dissent of a minor should also be respected unless it is not critical or harmless and the condition can be manageable. Also here physician has to play a key role in decision making keeping in mind about the legal responsibilities and also moral obligations.

Hope this is clear.