Children's voices in public hospital healthcare delivery: intention as opposed to practice.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the extent to which children have the opportunity to provide feedback on public hospital care in New Zealand.


METHODS
A scan of the web sites of the Ministry of Health and the Health Quality and Safety Commission New Zealand (HQSC) together with a search of core District Health Board publications was conducted to identify existing or planned processes to capture the hospital experience of patients under 18 years.


RESULTS
The importance of gathering patient feedback was recognised but, currently, ad hoc strategies are being used to put these good intentions into practice. Although some DHBs are introducing novel methods of gathering patient feedback, details of data collection methods and characteristics of participants are often not publicised. The HQSC has developed an adult Inpatient survey to provide a coherent means of assessing patient experience nationally but there is currently no children's survey available.


CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis suggests a lack of opportunity for children's perspectives to be taken into account in secondary health service delivery. The current 'paternalistic' approach, based upon children being a vulnerable population, is contrary to the emerging recognition that children are individuals who can contribute to their own care and well-being.
Centre for Child Health Research, Auckland University of Technology, Private Bag 92006, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. annette.dickinson@aut.ac.nz.
Annette
A
Dickinson
Wendy
W
Wrapson
Tineke
T
Water
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003695:Delivery of Health Care; D019538:Health Care Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006779:Hospitals, Public; D006801:Humans; D009520:New Zealand; D017060:Patient Satisfaction