School nurses’ descriptions of concerns arising during pupils’ health check-ups: A qualitative study

Objective: To describe the concerns and modes of action of Finnish school nurses during pupils’ health check-ups. Methods: Focus group interviews with 17 school nurses were performed in 2011 and again in 2013. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: School nurses’ concerns were...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health education journal 2015-09, Vol.74 (5), p.544-556
Main Authors: Poutiainen, Hannele, Holopainen, Arja, Hakulinen-Viitanen, Tuovi, Laatikainen, Tiina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attendance Patterns
Bullying
Child Development
Collaboration
Computer Mediated Communication
Content Analysis
Cyberbullying
Family Characteristics
Family Relationship
Finland
Focus Groups
Foreign Countries
Health Behavior
Health care
Health education
Interdisciplinary Approach
Interpersonal Competence
Interviews
Life Style
Mental Health
Mode of action
Nurses
Obesity
Parent Role
Physical Health
Psychological Patterns
Pupils
Qualitative Research
School Health Services
School Nurses
Schools
Well being
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective: To describe the concerns and modes of action of Finnish school nurses during pupils’ health check-ups. Methods: Focus group interviews with 17 school nurses were performed in 2011 and again in 2013. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis. Results: School nurses’ concerns were mostly associated with the psychosocial development of pupils and with problems in the family, for example, the loss of a parental role. With regard to physical health, school nurses were particularly concerned with obesity among pupils. The new phenomenon of cyberbullying also caused concern. School nurses were able to identify the causes for their concern at school health check-ups, but they were uncertain regarding how they should act and finding the right mode of action and sufficient multidisciplinary support when pupils had problems. Conclusion: The concern of school nurses at health check-ups was mainly associated with pupils’ health habits, their psychosocial development and family characteristics, and with addressing the need to taking the health behaviours and well-being of the entire family into consideration during health check-ups. Linked-up processes in school health care and multidisciplinary collaboration within schools are of primary importance in supporting the work of nurses and in promoting pupils’ well-being and health.
ISSN:0017-8969
1748-8176
DOI:10.1177/0017896914551428