Activities

The main activities of the CRHC-Section have covered the following:

Education & training

Regarding education Winterschools, entiteld “Children’s Rights in Health Care” was organized and coordinated for Honours College students of the University of Groningen.

Students of medicine in Groningen are invited to dedicate the final phase of their studies to a practical period concerning 'Children’s Rights in Health Care'. Moreover, physicians in training to become a pediatrician are enabled to enjoy thematic modules covering normative issues in pediatric care. The same goes for nurses aiming to work in the specialist field of pediatric nursing.

Research

Scientific studies in the field of children’s rights in health care are preferably performed in a multi-disciplinary setting and carried out over a period of 2-3 years. In doing so, a symbiosis between practical and normative insights is endeavored. Required financial budgets involve costs for research execution and -support, collecting literature, professional guidance, travelling & residence expenses and for reporting.

In 2012 an Invitational Conference was held at Utrecht, in view of a European-comparative study on the medical and legal aspects of end-of-life decisions in neonatology. This Conference resulted in: P.J.J. Sauer, J.H.H.M. Dorscheidt, A.A.E. Verhagen et al.: End-of-life decisions in severely ill newborn infants: medical and legal viewpoints from seven European countries, 102 Acta Paediatrica (2013), e57-e63.

Consultation

With regard to consultation, the CRHC-Section aims to provide commissioning parties with desired data on specific issues in connection to children’s rights in health care. Part of such efforts is the disclosure of relevant data on such issues to the UN-Committee on the Right of the Child in Genève. Besides, the Section offers counseling on pediatric care policies and practices as well as the initiation and evaluation of related regulations and standards.