Assessing Gillick Competence and Mental Capacity in Minors: A Mixed-Methods Approach for Legal and Clinical Practices

This project will study how clinicians decide if young people under 18 have the capacity to make their own health decisions. It will look at the methods clinicians use to check if a young person is able to make informed choices. The project will review real medical records to see how these assessments are made in practice. By doing this, we hope to learn more about the relevant decision-making abilities and also how clinicians make sure young people are included in important decisions about their health when it is appropriate for them to do so.