Child health care nurses' experience of language screening for 2.5-year-old children: A qualitative study.
Anna Lindgren Fändriks, Kjerstin Almqvist, Fredrik Hjärthag and 1 others
PMID 37317482WHAT IT FOUND
Child health nurses described changing the language screening to get a shy child to talk, using waiting-room listening and their own versions.
They also reported parents' resistance, bilingual assessment problems, and consent barriers that made referrals uncertain.
Key findings
01Child health nurses said the 2.5-year language screening visit was the most difficult visit in the Swedish child health programme.
02Nurses modified the screening procedure, and some used their own version rather than following the manual.
03Some parents did not want advice or refused referrals to a speech therapist or psychologist.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included 16 nurses from five of 31 centres in one Swedish county, so the findings may not apply elsewhere. All participants were female nurses of Swedish origin with Swedish as their mother tongue, so the accounts may not represent other groups. The study reports nurses' experiences, not children's language outcomes or the accuracy of the screening. The first author worked part time as a psychologist in child health care, which could have influenced the interviews. Qualitative interviews cannot show whether modified screening practices improve or worsen identification of language delay.
Declared interests
The study was funded by Region Värmland, and the authors reported no potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that the language screening accurately identifies children with language delay. The study reports nurses' experiences, not child outcomes, and nurses described changing the procedure or relying on parents.