Maltreated Children in Emergency Centers: Do They Participate? And how Satisfied Are They?

The study compared the perspective of children aged 8–14 who were in emergency centers to the point of view of the professionals working in the emergency centers, with regard to the children's satisfaction and their participation in making decisions about them. The study involved 147 professionals and 47 children from eight emergency centers who were sampled in a convenience sample. The professionals and the children filled out an anonymous questionnaire. The findings revealed that most (85%) of the professionals were satisfied with the treatment that the children received in emergency centers, while the percentage of children who were satisfied was much lower (66%). In addition, most (91.5%) of the children believed that children had the right to participate in decision-making, while the proportion of professionals who thought so was less than half. It was also found that according to the perception of professionals, children are more involved in decision-making during their stay in an emergency center than in the children's perception of their participation. It is worth examining the professionals' perception of the children's satisfaction with the stay and treatment at the emergency center and the extent to which they participate in decisions on their matter and compare it with the children's perspective. Gaps in perceptions may lead to a change in policy and practice to increase the compatibility between professionals and children. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.