Surgical consent in the pediatric age group: Parental perceptions toward legal aspects of informed consent

Background: The perceptions of parents/legal guardians may drive their decisions on providing informed consent for minors. Currently, no study from Saudi Arabia has assessed the perceptions of parents/legal guardians toward informed consent for pediatric surgical procedures. Objective: To determine parents' perception and understanding of pediatric informed consent for surgeries from Saudi Arabia and determining their level of participation in the decision-making process of the treatment modality. Methods: This observational cross-sectional study was conducted among parents from the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia with at least one child aged ≤ 12 years. Three aspects of surgical informed consent were evaluated: parents' awareness, attitude, and understanding of informed consent and its legal issues; the knowledge they sought during informed consent discussions; and parents' opinions about their respective roles in the decision-making process for the treatment. Results: A total of 366 responses were included in this study. More than 95% of the participants agreed that informed consent was necessary; however, 94.7% felt that regardless of their beliefs, they had to sign the form. Surprisingly, the majority (61%) believed that any relative can sign the consent form on behalf of the parents/legal guardian. Most respondents believe that pre-operative procedures (80.8%), the cost (93.9%), and the reason for the procedure and its alternatives (87.2%) should be discussed when informed consent is being sought. About 76.5% of the participants wanted to know all the information regarding the procedure; of these, 48.3% responded that they would play a role in deciding the eventual treatment modality. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the need to increase knowledge regarding surgical informed consent among parents in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia.