Pravo na palijativnu skrb za djecu u Republici Hrvatskoj

Abstract

Palliative care for children means active, complete care on physical, psychological, social and spiritual levels, and it includes collaboration and active work with the family. Palliative care for children lasts during the period of illness and continues after the death of the child in the form of expert assistance to the family in their grief. Such care follows the principles of individual, holistic, transdisciplinary and biopsychosocial-spiritual approaches that come together in promoting the quality of life of a child and his or her family. Numerous legal sources are the starting point for defining palliative care for children as a fundamental human right to health care, as well as for defining basic actions within this fundamental right. The right to palliative care includes rights from different systems, and collaboration and linking of different disciplines are needed in order to meet the needs of the child and his family. The aim of this paper is to present crucial knowledge in the field of palliative care for children and to examine how this right is implemented and legally regulated in the Republic of Croatia.