Public Health Nurses in an Internal Negotiation Process When There Is Concern About the Child's Care

The aim of the study was to explore and describe how public health nurses at child health clinics experience and perceive the follow-up of children and families when there is concern about the child's care. The goal was to contribute to knowledge development to guide health-promoting nursing care for children and their families. Theoretical perspectives included health promotion, child-centered and family-centered care, in addition to nursing care. An exploratory qualitative design informed by a hermeneutic approach was used. Data were collected in 3 focus groups with 16 public health nurses and analyzed using latent content analysis. The findings detail public health nurses' internal negotiation processes in the follow-up of children and the family, and the ways these negotiation processes were influenced by various prerequisites, the approaches for follow-up, dilemmas that affected public health nurses' approaches, and prolonged dwellings on past responses to children and families of concern. The lack of routines and goals for follow-up, a dominant parental perspective, and ambiguity related to health promotion and disease prevention, all created challenges for the public health nurses. Based on these findings, a model of public health nurse's follow-up when there is concern about the child's care was developed for future research.

Child and family health nurses' roles in the care of infants and children: A scoping review

Child and family health nurses (CFHNs) work in a variety of settings with families to promote optimal growth and development in infants and children from birth to 5 years. Literature is available about models of care that CFHNs use in their work, but there is limited information about how CFHNs enact care specifically for infants and children. The aim of this scoping review was to identify and contextualize existing knowledge of how CFHNs, both in Australia and internationally, care for infants and children. Arksey and O'Malley's (2005) framework was used to review 27 studies from Australia, Sweden, Finland, United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark and Canada. It was identified that CFHNs, equipped with a range of assessment tools for early intervention and health promotion, use a partnership approach when working with parents to promote the health and well-being of infants and children. The literature revealed the complexity of the roles undertaken by CFHNs when caring for infants and children. Review findings indicated that CFHNs' work is distinctive because it is conducted in home and community settings, is relational and salutogenic in nature and is also located in the domain of preventative health and early intervention.

‘Happy that someone cared’—Non-native-speaking immigrant mothers’ experiences of participating in screening for postpartum depression in the Swedish child health services

Immigrant mothers who have immigrated during the last ten years and do not speak the language of the new country are found to be at particular risk of being affected by postpartum depression (PPD). Still they choose to participate to a lesser extent in screening for PPD and are not screened out as frequently as can be expected. In this study, non-native-speaking immigrant mothers' experiences of participating in screening for PPD in the Swedish Child Health Services were elucidated. Thirteen qualitative interviews were performed with the help of an interpreter and analysed using latent content analysis. The possibility to participate in screening was appreciated by the mothers even though the concept of PPD in general was unclear. Cultural beliefs about mental ill health, negative expectations connected to their perceived value as a woman, shame at not being grateful enough for their new life and negative experience of the interaction during the screening challenged them in speaking about their mood. To facilitate the screening procedure for this vulnerable group of mothers, it is important to be aware of possible challenges when speaking about their mood and to strive for a trusting clinical interview with the assistance of a female interpreter on-site.