Child Autonomy and Vulnerability in Healthcare

This chapter aims to develop an understanding of the child-patient’s right to autonomy and explore how children’s autonomy emerges as an effect of reciprocal actions reiterated by social actors involved in a healthcare relationship. The intention of the chapter is also to address one of the most complicated aspects of child autonomy—assessing a child’s maturity in order to give due weight to the child’s view. This is done by way of the example of the perceptions of Estonian health professionals about how they involve child patients in decision-making.