Evaluating children's rights in the hospital setting of Afghanistan.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Children's rights must be realized in all children-related settings, such as hospitals. This study aimed to assess children's rights in hospital settings in Afghanistan in 2021. DESIGN AND METHODS: A cross-sectional survey using the World Health Organization questionnaire was conducted. It was distributed among the randomly selected healthcare providers in the studied hospital. One hundred forty-two hospital managers, physicians, and nurses participated in the study. Descriptive and analytical statistics were used to analyze the results in SPSS. RESULTS: In this study, 54.2% of participants were men, 59.9% had a bachelor's degree, and most were 20-30 years old (56.7%). The total score of the hospital in fulfilling children's rights was 1.71 ± 0.46. Among different children's rights, "equality and non-discrimination" received the highest score (2.01 ± 0.59), and the lowest was for "play and learning" (1.1 ± 0.46). There was a meaningful relationship between education level, years of work experience, and the scores given to children's rights. Various dimensions of the rights had significant relationships (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The hospital has taken action to fulfill children's rights. The main gaps include the lack of adolescent-friendly health services, opportunities to play and learn, and child protection. Hospital managers, staff, and the public should be educated on children's rights. Moreover, protocols for improving children's rights and a monitoring system are needed. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Children's rights should receive special attention in hospitals. Educating children, parents, service providers, health policymakers, and society about children's rights is essential. They should know their responsibilities regarding children.