The right of children and adolescents living with HIV to participate in health care

Abstract

Objective To understand how health professionals perceive the right to participation, that is, the voice of children and adolescents living with HIV in relation to their own health care. Method A qualitative study with a participatory approach that used the Sensitive Creative Method. The participants were 16 health professionals from three Specialized Care Services in southern Brazil. The data were submitted to French Discourse Analysis. Results Respect for the rights in the care context, specifically the right to participation and decision-making, is still incipient. Children and adolescents have a voice in tangential aspects of their own health care but in a passive way, being restricted to a clinical and medication use perspective. Conclusion and implications for the practice Respect for the right to participation constitutes a promising link in health care and needs to be incorporated into the professionals' daily practice.