La información y el proceso de toma de decisiones por parte del menor de edad en el ámbito deportivo

Abstract

Sports practice during school age is extremely important for the overall background of a person. However, it also entails the possibility of negative impacts on the integrity of the person, as a consequence of the injuries that may arise. In the sports field, the general idea is that the athlete takes the risks inherent in the practice of the activity, so the previous information and the decision-making process become extremely relevant. We therefore consider that in the health sector, the requirements provided by the Law 41/2002, 14 of November, on the autonomy of patients and rights and obligations with regard to clinical information and documentation are met. Hence, consent mediation in the field of injury is closely related to the availability of your body in the health environment. In turn, the recognition of the decision-making capacity of minor children in the social and legal sphere is controversial in many cases and conveys certain legal uncertainty for those who have to consider their options and wishes as valid in order to be taken into account. The law has paid special attention to the decision-making process in aspects that affect the minor children's health, raising important questions at a time when changes in family models are obvious. As a general objective, in this study we intend to know the opinions and perceptions about the conditions in which minor children do sports on a regular basis, and the age considered appropriate to make decisions in relation not only to sport, but also to issues that affect their health. As specific objectives we suggest to analyse: - Different aspects that affect health and may interfere with sports practice such as patterns of toxic substances use, sports equipment, facilities, impact on school performance and medical examinations performed. - The perception of minor children on issues that affect the right to information and the decision-making process for sports practice. We have conducted a descriptive observational study in 173 minor children, (118 males and 34 females) between 12 and 17 years old who regularly play football and athletics in official competitions, domiciled in Cartagena (Murcia) between the months of January and December of 2016. The average age of the sample studied is 15.02 years (standard deviation 1.66). A validated questionnaire of 101 closed questions was administered, including personal and sociodemographic variables, educational level, specific issues of sports practice and questions that evaluate the information on risks of their practice. We performed a descriptive analysis, a correlation analysis using the Pearson statistic and the Chi-square test to know the statistically significant associations between the variables. In our study, we proved that there are weaknesses in the process of informing the minor children about the sport he practices and the risks involved, since almost a third of the children surveyed had not received any prior information about the sport or its risks. The risks involved in sports practice should be known by children -according to their ability- and by their parents. This consideration must be taken into account proportionally to the increased risk in the activity, as in the case of health practice. Therefore, in high risk sports or in those situations in which risks of relevance are assumed, the information must always be written.