Pediatric Ethics

Pediatric ethics is concerned with those issues of value that relate specifically to the complex area of decision making for infants, children and adolescents. Areas of concern include family-centered care; the ethical requirements for third-party (parent- guardian) authorization of medical interventions; respectful involvement of children; and special issues related to research involving children.

Issues of particular research interest by Dr. Nuala Kenny include involvement of children in health decisions; the role of ' therapeutic misconception' in parental permission for research involving children (especially in ares such as neuro-imaging); end-of-life decisions involving children; and justice issues for children in health care system reform with particular attention to publicly funded home care and pharmaceutical coverage. As chair of the Health Council of Canada's Healthy Canadian Committee, Dr.Kenny was responsible for the June 2006 report on the health status of Canadian children " Their Future is Now: Healthy Choices for Canada's Children and Youth".

Dr. Conrad Fernandez is currently PI in the third year of a three year CIHR international multi-center study examining parents of children with cancer and adolescents with cancer with respect to their needs and interestsaround cancer research.