Self-advocacy and barriers for young people accessing health care in the Scottish Highlands (July 2024)

Summary

Self-advocacy is an individual's ability to communicate their own needs and is an important skill for patients. However, medical self-advocacy can be challenging, especially when there is a power imbalance between people in positions of authority and patients, who are often in a more vulnerable position. This power imbalance can be even more difficult to navigate for children and young people. In this personal account, Hannah Eaton describes her experiences as a disabled young person attempting to get support for diagnoses relating to chronic illness and neurodivergence. She aims to highlight the difficulties faced by children and young people accessing healthcare. She also makes some suggestions to improve how much children are able to take part in their own healthcare care and the healthcare system as a whole.