"Everybody Makes Mistakes": Children's Views on Medical Errors and Disclosure

The aim of this study was to explore the views of chronically-ill pediatric patients on medical errors and disclosure processes.

Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty pediatric patients. Participants comprised ten children (8-12 years) and ten adolescents (13-18 years). Multiple methods using qualitative approaches were applied to explore and elicit views on medical errors, disclosure and recommendations for patient safety. For the children, art and play-based methods along with visual aids and vignettes were used to facilitate discussion. Older participants predominantly engaged in discussing the issue of medical errors through an examination of vignettes representing levels of harm.

Participants revealed a range of perspectives including a strong desire to be told of errors. While they wanted those responsible for the error to be held accountable, they acknowledged that everyone makes mistakes. Children's rights and participation in patient safety as well as the existence of secret errors emerged spontaneously through the data analysis.

Chronically-ill children want to know about errors, from the person responsible for the error, and consider apologies and genuine remorse to be critical for coping. Children acknowledge that disclosure requires a case-by-case analysis.

The results have implications for how we view disclosure processes with children and how to engage them in patient safety.