{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,2]],"date-time":"2026-08-02T22:58:40Z","timestamp":1785711520554,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,16]],"date-time":"2023-05-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1684195200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Medicina"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and Objectives: In 1989, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), with a considerable number of the Articles of the Convention being related to the health status of children. Therefore, adhering to and assessing the implementation of the rights of children during hospitalization is a very important step towards child protection. Herein, we attempt to highlight the depth of knowledge of employees working in children\u2019s hospitals with regard to children\u2019s rights as well as the degree of adherence to the UNCRC with respect to hospitalized children. Material and Methods: The target group included all healthcare professionals working in the various general pediatric clinics of the three Children\u2019s Hospitals of the Athens metropolitan area in Greece. We conducted a cross-sectional study, with data collection carried out in February and March 2020, using a structured questionnaire consisting of 46 questions which was handed out to all personnel. For the analysis, we used the IBM SPSS 21.0. Results: A total of 251 individuals participated in the study (physicians 20%, nurses 72%, and other employees 8%). A total of 54.5% of health professionals did not know what the UNCRC is, and 59.6% of them were not even aware that their hospital had rules and a bioethical committee related to clinical research involving children. Lack of awareness or trust of health professionals is also observed for other procedures or supervisory measures such as abuse protocols, complaint control, admission control, etc. With regard to the health system, there are shortcomings or weaknesses in (a) procedures followed with regard to respect for gender and privacy, (b) information on basic services provided by pediatric hospitals (such as recreation, education and free meals during hospitalization), (c) the logistical infrastructure (such as recreational facilities and facilities for the disabled), (d) the possibility of recording complaints, and (e) hospitalizations that were not necessary. A difference emerged concerning the nurses\u2019 responses between the three hospitals, with nurses participating in relevant seminars held in one of the hospitals being significantly more informed. Conclusions: The majority of healthcare personnel seem unaware of basic principles with respect to children\u2019s rights during hospitalization as well as relevant procedures and supervisory measures. Moreover, obvious weaknesses of the health system exist with respect to procedures, services, infrastructure, and complaint recording. There is a need for improved education of health professionals with respect to the implementation of children\u2019s rights in pediatric hospitals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/medicina59050955","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,16]],"date-time":"2023-05-16T02:37:51Z","timestamp":1684204671000},"page":"955","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":9,"title":["Assessing the Respect of Children\u2019s Rights in Pediatric Hospitals"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"59","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0351-9970","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasiliki","family":"Georgousopoulou","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"1st Department of Pediatrics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece"},{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonis","family":"Voutetakis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatrics, University General Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Democritus University of Thrace, 68100 Alexandroupolis, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1308-5782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Petros","family":"Galanis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Health Services Management and Evaluation, Department of Nursing, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Freideriki Eleni","family":"Kourti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Afroditi","family":"Zartaloudi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ioannis","family":"Koutelekos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3882-7110","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Evangelos","family":"Dousis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2376-5973","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dimitrios","family":"Kosmidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, International Hellenic University, 68300 Didimoteixo, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sotiria","family":"Koutsouki","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, General Hospital of Kavala, 65500 Kavala, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Despoina","family":"Pappa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9458-3424","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael","family":"Igoumenidis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, School of Health Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Patras, 26334 Patras, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chrysoula","family":"Dafogianni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, University of West Attica, 12243 Athens, Greece"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cunningham, H. 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