Two major trends have developed in pediatric bioethics: family-centered care and increased recognition of emerging\r\nautonomy through legal and policy entrenched rights. The different foci of their corresponding health care delivery\r\nmodels (ââ?¬Å?family-centeredââ?¬Â or ââ?¬Å?patient-/child-centeredââ?¬Â) create the potential for conflict in the context of seeking consent\r\nto research or, as will be presented, the possibility of integration. Given the state of current bioethical principles and\r\nlegal holdings, the pediatric patient should ultimately be the primary focus of ethical consideration and, at least in the\r\ncontext of dissenting to research, the childââ?¬â?¢s autonomous wishes should reign. However, in recognizing and supporting\r\na childââ?¬â?¢s emerging autonomy, the family context should also be respected and taken into account. This discussion\r\narticulates the values underpinning these two important trends in pediatric health care delivery, and proposes a model\r\nfor obtaining consent for pediatric research in the current context.
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