Evaluation of the Health Workers' Proficiency in Advocating for Child Rights

Aims: Child rights are defined as the protection of children
rights all over the world such as education, health, living,
housing, protection against sexual or psychological
abuse. It is necessary to increase awareness of children
rights among healthcare professionals and to put them
into practice. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the
awareness of healthcare professionals employed in
departments of child health and diseases regarding
children’s rights.
Material and Methods: The study comprised 319
people including physicians, health officers, nurses, and
midwives working in the Department of Child Health
and Diseases in training and research hospitals in Ankara,
Turkey. All participants completed a questionnaire
consisting of 19 questions. Results: Two hundred and
twenty (69.0%) participants were aware of the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, while 99
(31.0%) were not. There were 59 (18.5%) participants who
could list 3 of the basic principles of the convention, but
there were 236 (74%) participants who could not specify
any articles. It was found that 111 (34.8%) people in the
study population considered themselves sufficient in
advocating for children’s rights, but 208 (65.2%) did not.
Conclusions: This study found an insufficient level
of awareness of children’s rights among healthcare
professionals. This suggest that there is a need to raise the
level of knowledge and awareness of healthcare workers
to know the principles, to fulfill the responsibilities
determined in terms of rights and laws, and to be aware
of the importance of this convention for children.