Swedish schoolchildren's voices of health-promoting factors: a focus group study

Children have the right to express their views on all issues related to their health and development. The aim was to explore health-promoting factors voiced by 8- to 12-year-old children, to determine how the children prioritize those factors and inform school personnel how to develop health-promoting approach based on those findings. Focus groups, with the use of photographs, were conducted with 15 children. A deductive content analysis was used, with overall results showing that health-promoting factors are meaningful relationships and recreational activities. The results add new perspectives to the earlier model of health-promoting factors. By highlighting children's experience of what promotes health, measures at the individual, group and community level can be adapted to children's priorities, based on their own needs.

What undermines healthy habits with regard to physical activity and food? Voices of adolescents in a disadvantaged community

This study aimed to illuminate factors that undermine the healthy habits of adolescents from a multicultural community with low socioeconomic status (S.E.S.) in Sweden with regard to physical activity (P.A.) and food, as stated in their own voices. Adolescents (n = 53, 12–13 y/o) were recruited from one school situated in a multicultural community characterized by low S.E.S. Embracing an interpretive approach, 10 focus-group interviews were conducted to produce data for the study. The focus-group interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in two major themes: (1) the availability of temptations is large, and support from the surroundings is limited; and (2) norms and demands set the agenda. The adolescents’ voices illuminate a profound awareness and the magnitude of tempting screen-based activities as undermining their P.A. and healthy food habits. Moreover, several gender boundaries were highlighted as undermining girls’ P.A. and healthy food habits. The adolescents’ stories illuminated that it is difficult for them, within their environment, to establish healthy habits with regard to P.A. and food. To facilitate the adolescents’ healthy habits, we suggest that support from family, friends, the school, and society at large is essential.

Reframing the focus from a family-centred to a child-centred care approach for children's healthcare

In this article, we argue for a conceptual move from family-centred care (FCC) to a child-centred care approach and the implications for clinical nursing practice. Firstly, we argue that the parents and professional dominance constructs an asymmetric relationship towards the child, which may take away the focus from the child; Secondly, we need to renew efforts to promote the fundamental principles of protection, promotion and participation rights for children and young people according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child declaration and thirdly, we need to strengthen the child's perspective and to view the child as an agent representing own experiences and wishes to be respected and negotiated.

Children's voices--Differentiating a child perspective from a child's perspective

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this paper was to discuss differences between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective based on the problem being investigated.

METHODS

Conceptual paper based on narrative review.

RESULTS

The child's perspective in research concerning children that need additional support are important. The difference between having a child perspective and taking the child's perspective in conjunction with the need to know children's opinions has been discussed in the literature. From an ideological perspective the difference between the two perspectives seems self-evident, but the perspectives might be better seen as different ends on a continuum solely from an adult's view of children to solely the perspective of children themselves. Depending on the research question, the design of the study may benefit from taking either perspective. In this article, we discuss the difference between the perspectives based on the problem being investigated, children's capacity to express opinions, environmental adaptations and the degree of interpretation needed to understand children's opinions.

CONCLUSION

The examples provided indicate that children's opinions can be regarded in most research, although to different degrees.