Student nurses' attitudes toward children's health rights: implications for advocacy

Student nurses were asked to consider a 10-year-old male clinic patient with urinary tract infections when responding to the Children's Rights Attitude Scale. Participants were also informed that the child's parents reported symptoms and complied with treatment. Attitudes were more favorable toward extending rights to receive health services than they were toward extending rights to make health-related decisions. The more concerned student nurses perceived the child's parents to be, the less willing they were to extend rights for special health services. Participants can be expected to be advocates for child health services but not for children's rights to act on their health decisions.