Care of Children with Complex Needs in Low-Income Families

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of key ethical considerations within the care of children from an interprofessional perspective. We first explore the importance and history of ethics within child health, focusing on how poverty impacts on child health and social care. We provide a composite story relating to ‘The Wilson family’ of two parents and two children with complex needs living in insecure accommodation with unpredictable incomes during the UK's Cost-of-Living Crisis. We consider the competing demands on the family to provide adequate food and housing, and the interprofessional care available to support them. We introduce the concept of ‘utilitarianism’: a philosophical approach which views that the morally right action is the action that produces the most good. We then consider the applications and ethical tensions of viewing childcare issues through a utilitarianism lens. We explore the differences and tensions of care in children between public health ethics and individual choice perspectives. This chapter concludes with an epilogue to the aforementioned story and reflective learning points.