Students with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are present in every school, and most likely, there are a few students in every class. School health care is responsible for providing support to all students, especially those with special needs. The aim of the study was to describe school nurses' experiences of supporting students with NDDs. A qualitative method consisting of seven focus group interviews (that included a total of 35 school nurses) in Southern Sweden was conducted. Three themes were identified in the findings: helping students with NDDs to interpret sensations, detecting early signs of distress among students with NDDs, and using an inclusive design for health education. This study highlights the importance of school nurses in identifying the needs of students with NDDs and promotes a person-centered approach to achieve a healthy and safe learning environment for all students.

I denna studie beskrivs skolsköterskors erfarenheter av att stödja elever med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar, NPF. Studien belyser skolsköterskors betydelse för att identifiera särskilda behov hos elever med NPF vilket kan främja en hälsosam inlärningsmiljö för alla elever.

Studien genomfördes i södra Sverige i form av fokusgruppsintervjuer med skolsköterskor. Tre teman identifierades: att hjälpa elever med NPF att tolka sinnesintryck, att upptäcka tidiga tecken på ångest eller andra besvär bland elever med NPF, och att använda ett inkluderande förhållningssätt i sina hälsopedagogiska insatser.

I forskningsmiljön Children’s and Young People’s Health in Social Context (CYPHiSCO) förenas forskare knutna till Högskolan Kristianstad i sitt gemensamma intresse för barns och ungdomars hälsa och välmående. När vi nu ger ut vår tredje antologi, de tidigare utkom 2017 respektive 2019, tar vi bland annat utgångspunkt i Agenda 2030 och de globala målen för hållbar utveckling där fera av målen kan kopplas till den forskning som bedrivs inom miljön. Samtliga 17 mål är av betydelse för barn och ungdomar, och i forskningssammanhang vill vi lyfta fram delmål 16.7 i Agenda 2030 om lyhördhet och deltagandebaserat och representativt beslutsfattande på alla nivåer. Barns och ungdomars deltagande i forskning möjliggör att de får komma till tals i frågor och beslut som berör dem. I denna antologi gör vi några nedslag, främst utifrån barns och ungdomars perspektiv, men även utifrån betydelsefulla vuxna i deras närhet.

Självskattad psykisk ohälsa ökar bland ungdomar och det finns tydliga skillnader mellan flickor och pojkar. Fler flickor rapporterar symtom på ohälsa och dessa skillnader har ökat över tid. Det är fler flickor som rap- porterar att de känner sig stressade och färre flickor uppger att de trivs med livet jämfört med pojkar. Flickor är medvetna om kraven på deras utseende och kravet på att lyckas i livet. De är också medvetna om de könsskillnader som finns både i skolan och media och som påverkar dem. Samhörighet med kamrater och familj är betydelsefullt liksom trygghet i form av tillit till kamrater och att känna sig trygg där de vistas enligt tonårsflickorna själva.

Detta kapitel kommer att handla om tonårsflickors hälsa och hur tonårs- flickor själva upplever sin vardag, vilket kommer att belysas med resultat från en forskningsstudie, samt diskuteras utifrån ett genusperspektiv och Känsla av sammanhang (KASAM).

Barn och ungas hälsa och välbefinnande är en global angelägenhet. Hälsobesvär kan vara både fysiska och psykiska, och kan komma till uttryck genom exempelvis sömnsvårigheter, smärta och ledsenhet. Eftersom hälsobesvär uttrycks på olika sätt kan de vara svåra att tolka och det kan därför vara utmanande att ge effektivt stöd och behandling. Det finns dessutom en risk för att vardagliga känslouttryck betraktas som sjukliga och att de medicineras (Horwitz & Wakefield, 2007). Ledsenhet är å ena sidan en känsla som människor återkommande erfar under livet, men ledsenhet är också ett av symtomen vid depression. I föreliggande kapitel presenterar vi populärvetenskapliga sammanfattningar av flera studier som genomförts inom ramen för forskningsprojektet ”Stress, smärta och läkemedelsanvändning hos barn och ungdomar” vid Forskningsplattformen Hälsa i Samverkan, Högskolan Kristianstad. Den första undersökningen är en tvärsnitts-studie som handlar om ledsenhet och hälsobesvär hos ungdomar. Därefter presenteras två intervjustudier om skolbarns erfarenheter av stress respektive smärta. Slutligen presenterar vi två intervjustudier som belyser skolsköterskors perspektiv. Den ena fokuserar på skolsköterskors stöd till elever som upplever stress och smärta och samtidigt har en neuropsykiatrisk funktionsnedsättning. Den andra studien beskriver skolsköterskors erfarenheter av att arbeta under covid-19-pandemin.

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.

Background

It has become important to measure long-term effects and quality of life in survivors of childhood cancer. The Minneapolis- Manchester Quality of Life (MMQL) instrument has been proven to better capture the quality of life (QoL) perspective of health than other instruments. The instrument has age appropriate versions and is therefore favourable for longitudinal studies of QoL of children surviving from cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Swedish version of MMQL-Youth Form and the Adolescent Form focusing on: 1) face and content validity 2) the internal consistency and 3) the test-retest reliability.

Methods

The sample consisted of 950 pupils (11–16 years old) from 7 schools in the western Sweden who completed the questionnaire. For the test-retest evaluation 230 respondents completed the questionnaire two weeks later.

Results

Face and content validity was supported and internal consistency was found to be acceptable for the total scale for both the MMQL-Youth Form (8–12 years of age) and the Adolescent Form (13–20 years of age). Test-retest reliability for the MMQL-Youth Form was moderate for 50% of the items and good for the remaining. For the MMQL-Adolescent Form the test-retest showed moderate or good agreement for 80% of the items and fair for 20%.

Conclusions

The result indicated that the Swedish version of the MMQLYouth Form and Adolescent Form was valid and reliable in a sample of healthy children in a Swedish context. It is recommended to test the instrument among diverse samples of children such as survivors of childhood cancer in order to validate its usefulness in research and clinical settings.

BACKGROUND:

Health promotion for children with cancer should be based on the children's own needs and desires. Because there is a lack of knowledge in this area, the aim of this study was to explore what promotes health from the perspective of children with experience of cancer treatment.

METHODS:

Fifteen children between 8 and 12 years of age participated in focus groups with three children in each group. The children were given a camera and instructions to photograph subjects that promote their health. Focus group discussions were based on the photographs and the children's own description of those photographs. The analysis of focus group discussions and photographs was conducted using inductive content analysis.

RESULTS:

According to the children, health-promoting factors are defined as meaningful relationships, recreational activities and a trustful environment. Meaningful relationships include togetherness within the family, affection for pets and friendship with peers. Recreational activities include engagement in play and leisure, withdrawal for relaxation and feeling enjoyment. Trustful environment includes confidence in significant others and feeling safe.

CONCLUSIONS:

Knowledge from this study can contribute to health promotion interventions and quality improvements in the health care of children with experience of cancer treatment. Children's experiences with what promotes health in their everyday lives provide a better understanding of the type of support children prefer when promoting their own health.

Friendships are significant to child development and health but diseases such as cancer can interrupt the contact with friends. The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of friendship from the perspective of children undergoing cancer treatment, in order to build knowledge that can be used in a health promotion intervention for these children. Fifteen children between 8 and 12 years of age participated in focus groups, where a mixture of informative and creative techniques were used. The focus group discussions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The analysis resulted in three generic categories, Common interests and experiences, Mutual empathic actions. and Mutual trust and understanding, incorporating seven subcategories. Based on children's descriptions from a salutogenic perspective, friendship emerged as An equal and mutual commitment that evolves over time and with interactions face-to-face and digitally, a child perspective on friendship should be central to the development of health promotion interventions designed to support friendship relations of children treated for cancer.

This article is a philosophical review of school nursing and its constructs framed by Barbara Dossey's holistic nursing theory. The author describes the application of holistic nursing theory within the school nurse's area of activity. The review suggests that holistic nursing theory can be applied in several areas of school nursing. School nurses have a multifaceted occupation that includes meetings with students, parents, and school staff. Barbara Dossey's holistic nursing theory offers the school nurse tools to deal with people's varied experiences, feelings, and needs.

Öppet digitalt seminarium om ”Stress, smärta och läkemedelsanvändning hos ungdomar”. Doktorand Tide Garnow presenterar en ny studie om ledsenhet och hälsobesvär hos ungdomar. Forskarna Pernilla Garmy och Eva-Lena Einberg presenterar tillsammans med magisterstudenter studier i forskningsprojektet "Stress, smärta och läkemedelsanvändning hos ungdomar”. Seminariet arrangeras av forskningsmiljön Cyphisco i samarbete med Forskningsplattformen Hälsa i Samverkan vid Högskolan Kristianstad.

Seminariet spelades in, se länk: https://hkrplay.hkr.se/media/t/0_sbig84lx

Introduktion

Ungdomars hälsobesvär betraktas i dag som ett globalt folkhälsoproblem. Hälsobesvär kan vara både kroppsliga och psykiska, och kan komma till uttryck genom exempelvis ledsenhet, sömnsvårigheter och smärta. Eftersom hälsobesvär uttrycks på olika sätt kan de vara svåra att förstå och därigenom bemöta. Ledsenhet är en känsla som människor återkommande erfar under livet, men ledsenhet är också ett av symtomen vid depression. Forskning har hittills fokuserat på depression hos ungdomar, men ledsenhet är däremot inte lika utforskad, och inte heller relationen mellan ledsenhet och andra hälsobesvär.

Syfte

Syftet var att utforska ledsenhet och andra hälsobesvär hos ungdomar.

Metod

En kvantitativ tvärsnittsstudie baserad på enkätdata insamlade på gymnasieskolor i södra Sverige (n = 1489; 15–17 år) (svarsfrekvens 71,3 %).

Resultat

Ledsenhet var vanligt hos ungdomar. 21,8 % av ungdomarna uppgav att de upplevde ledsenhet ofta eller alltid (flickor: 17,9 %, pojkar: 26,7 %, annat kön: 28,0 %). Ledsenhet var relaterat till sömnsvårigheter, huvudvärk, koncentrationssvårigheter, spänningar och nedsatt aptit.

Diskussion

Ett sätt att tolka relationen mellan ledsenhet och andra hälsobesvär är att förstå ledsenhet som en förkroppsligad känsla. Med förkroppsligande menas att känslor tar sig kroppsliga uttryck, och ledsenhet kan på så vis manifesteras genom exempelvis huvudvärk och sömnsvårigheter. Olika sätt att förstå hur känslor uppkommer och yttrar sig leder till olika behandling och stöd. Det finns en risk att vardagliga känslouttryck betraktas som sjukliga och därför medicineras. Tidigare forskning har visat att flickors och pojkars känslouttryck tolkas och bemöts på olika sätt, och att grunden till deras besvär inte alltid kommer upp till ytan.

Slutsats

Som hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal är det viktigt att försöka förstå vad hälsobesvär är ett uttryck för, för att kunna erbjuda personcentrerat stöd som har positiv effekt på den ungas välbefinnande.

Artikeln i sin helhet

Garnow, T.; Einberg, E.-L.; Edberg, A.-K.; Garmy, P. Sadness and Other Health Complaints among Swedish Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 3999. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083999

Introduction

There is growing concern that adolescents’ mental health is deteriorating. Additionally, concepts of embodiment have gained increasing importance in research in recent decades. Since emotions are expressed in the body, it can be challenging to understand what adolescents’ health complaints stand for and how they can be responded to.Sadness is a common emotion that repeatedly occurs during life, but sadness is also one of the main symptoms of depression. A large body of previous research has examined depression among adolescents, but little is known about nonpathological sadness and the relationship between sadness and other health complaints.

Aim

The study aimed to investigate sadness and other health complaints among adolescents.

Methods

Swedish adolescents completed a survey with a cross-sectional design (n = 1489, 15–17 years old), and a logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between sadness and other health complaints.

Results

Sadness was related to health complaints[headache (OR: 1.58), sleeping difficulties (OR: 2.00), reduced appetite (OR: 1.43), tension (OR: 2.44), and concentration difficulties (OR: 2.75)].

Conclusion

A possible interpretation of the relationship between sadness and other health complaints may be an embodiment of emotions. Different understandings of how emotions arise and are expressed lead to different treatments and care. By not considering embodied emotions, there is a risk of medicating a normal emotional state. Therefore, it is important to reflect on what adolescents’ health complaints are an expression of and take into account the body as physical and psychological intertwined. This might entail person-centered support that hopefully leads to an improvement in adolescents’ well-being.

Reference

Garnow, T.; Einberg, E.-L.; Edberg, A.-K.; Garmy, P. Sadness and Other Health Complaints among Swedish Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 3999. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1808999

Health complaints are increasing among adolescents and are recognized as a global public health issue. Health complaints are an indicator for subjective ill-being, but little is known about the relationship between sadness and other health complaints. The aim of this study was to investigate sadness and other health complaints among Swedish adolescents. A survey with a cross-sectional design was completed by adolescents (n = 1489, 15–17 years old) in the south of Sweden. A logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the relationship between sadness and other health complaints. The result show that sadness and other health complaints were common among adolescents, and sadness was related to health complaints (headache (OR: 1.58), sleeping difficulties (OR: 2.00), reduced appetite (OR: 1.43), tension (OR: 2.44), and concentration difficulties (OR: 2.75)). When adolescents express sadness or other health complaints it is important to reflect on what these complaints are an expression of, and take into account the body as physical and psychological intertwined. This might entail person-centered support that hopefully leads to an improvement in adolescents’ well-being. Future research that profoundly highlights adolescents’ existential health is needed.

Background: The majority of candidate theses in baccalaureate nursing programs inSweden are written as literature studies. Being able to carry out a systematic and structuredliterature search is an essential part of thesis-related work.Aim: The aim of the current study was to investigate changes in nursing students’ searchstrategies in candidate theses.

Methods: A retrospective, quantitative study design was obtained. Librarians (n = 2) andteachers (n = 4) randomly examined selected candidate theses (every third thesis, n = 89)from the years 2012, 2014, and 2016.

Results: The result showed a significant improvement over the years (from 2012 and 2014to 2016) regarding the use of a sufficient number of synonyms, matching search terms to therespective database, use of the Boolean operator OR, and the use of subject headings and freetext searches. Use of the title/abstract search largely disappeared. There was a significantchange in the types of searches being done. The searches have become more structured inlater years as the use of block searches increased significantly; in other words, moresystematic and relevant searches have been done in recent years.

Conclusion: The result of this study shows that the quality of the students’ search strategiesimproved significantly during the studied years. It is recommended that search documents areused in both formative and summative assessments to evaluate students’ search strategies.Educational development in the form of enhanced collaboration between librarians andteachers in nursing programs is recommended because it might help to develop studentsearch strategies in literature-based candidate theses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a vast influence on Swedish society. Related recommendations and political decisions have greatly affected schools. This study aimed to describe school nurses' experience working in Sweden during the pandemic in 2020. The study used a qualitative method with an inductive approach. Interviews with 17 school nurses in five focus groups and one individual interview were conducted. Qualitative content analysis was used. The impact of the pandemic on school nurses can be described through three categories: "Changes in working methods in relation to the students/guardians", "Impact on cooperation with school staff", and "The school nurse's prerequisites for major changes." Overall, school nurses experienced a transition to a digital way of working. Policies and decisions on global and local levels affected the work situations of school nurses as well as the school nurses' social, cultural, and professional experience. The highest priority for school nurses is students, and school nurses adapted their working methods to give support to students during the changing circumstances. School nurses are both pragmatic and highly creative. Cooperation with other school professions is critical, as is support and guidance during crisis situations.

AIM: To explore the experience of pain in 10- to 12-year-old children.

METHODS: This interview study included students (n = 42) in grade 4-6 in focus groups (n = 10) in southern Sweden (52% girls); mean age, 11.3 years (range 10-12 years). The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and analysed with qualitative content analysis.

RESULTS: The analysis resulted in one theme: Pain as a unique experience for each individual, which was divided into five categories: (a) Feeling bodily pain; (b) Pain related to the school environment and schoolwork; (c) Internal pain related to sorrow and grief; (d) Pain related to conflicts and remorse; and (e) Pain can be good.

CONCLUSION: The children made distinctions between physical pain and emotional pain. Bullying, noisy school environments, grief and remorse were reported to be linked with headaches, stomachache and heartache.

PURPOSE:

Improved survival rates of pediatric cancer have drawn attention on how to best facilitate long-term follow up and transition from pediatric to adult care. The transition process is multifactorial and necessitates the joint involvement of the patient, the family and the healthcare providers. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of support from healthcare services during the transition from adolescence to adulthood described by young adult survivors of pediatric cancer.

METHODS:

A mixed method with a convergent parallel design was used to evaluate the experiences of receiving support from healthcare services (eg pediatric oncology and pediatric clinic) during transition from adolescence to adulthood described by young adult survivors of pediatric cancer (n = 213) in a nation wide cross-sectional survey.

RESULTS:

A quantitative assessment of the experienced extent and satisfaction of support from healthcare services to handle physical, mental and social changes to continue life after the disease showed that a majority of the participants had received insufficient support. The qualitative analysis indicated a need for equal roles in healthcare to promote participation, a need to manage and process consequences of the disease, and a need for continuous support.

CONCLUSIONS:

During transition to adulthood, there's a need for a personalized care plan that takes a holistic approach towards supporting the young cancer survivor in managing life in the best way. Identifying and handling the individual needs of pediatric cancer survivors is important for providing the resources and support required to increase the likelihood of successful transition to adulthood.

(1) Background: Overweight and obesity in children have increased worldwide and tend to persist into adolescence and adulthood. The Child Health Service (CHS) has an important role in providing health-promotive interventions, and such interventions are required to be documented in a child’s health record. The aim of the study was to investigate Child Health Care (CHC) nurses’ documentation of weight-related, health-promotive interventions in the Child Health Care Record (CHCR) regarding lifestyle habits in connection to the four-year visit. (2) Methods: A record review of 485 CHCRs using a review template was accomplished. Of the included CHS units, four used electronic records and two used paper records. Chi-square tests and Spearman’s rank-order correlations were used to analyse data. (3) Results: The results showed that CHC nurses document interventions regarding lifestyle habits to a low extent, although children with overweight/obesity seemed to undergo more interventions. There was also a difference between electronic and paper records. (4) Conclusions: The consequences of not documenting the interventions in the CHCR make it difficult to follow up and demonstrate the quality of the CHC nurse’s work. There is a need for more research to gain a deeper understanding of the reasons that the work of CHC nurses is not visible in children’s health records.

The study explored experiences of stress in children aged 10-12. An inductive qualitative design was used. Ten focus group interviews were conducted with Swedish schoolchildren (n = 42) aged 10-12. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The study identified one theme-"Body and mind react"-and three subthemes: (1) Friendships matters, (2) Parental stress affect, and (3) Trying to do my best. Stress often occurred in the children's everyday environment. The children had experienced how stress could be expressed both physically and mentally, inside and outside school. The children also had the experience of seeing people in their environment being stressed, which could create feelings that affected the children. The experience of the children was also that stress can sometimes be good. Stress related to peers, family, school, and society was commonly experienced by children aged 10-12. Both positive and negative stress was reported.