"I Didn't Even Know You Cared About That Stuff": Youths' Perceptions of Health Care Provider Roles in Addressing Bullying.
Judith A Vessey, Rachel L DiFazio, Tania D Strout
PMID 28268043WHAT IT FOUND
Youths saw bullying as a school issue, not a healthcare provider role.
They viewed providers as relevant only if suicide risk emerged. They preferred indirect or electronic screening and worried about confidentiality.
Key findings
01Youths did not see healthcare providers as having a substantive role in bullying and saw a role only if suicide risk emerged.
02Youths preferred indirect or electronic ways to raise bullying and saw electronic screening as more private.
03Youths doubted providers could help because bullying seemed a school issue and providers may lack resources.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study reports perceptions only. It did not test whether asking about bullying, electronic screening, or confidentiality explanations changes care or bullying outcomes. The sample was small and purposive: 24 youths, including only two hospitalized youths in the added fourth group. Participants were required to have taken part in school or community bullying prevention programs, so their views may not represent youths without that exposure. Youths with significant cognitive or behavioral impairments causing disabling language comprehension or expressive problems were excluded, so the findings may not apply to patients with communication or behavioral needs. Participants were recruited through clinic fliers, hospital web page announcements, or clinic staff nomination, which may miss youths not engaged with healthcare. The Discussion's suggestions about screening and provider roles are author opinion; the paper did not test them.
Declared interests
No author conflicts-of-interest declaration is provided in the supplied text. The publication types list NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that electronic screening or asking about bullying improves adolescent care or reduces bullying. This study reports perceptions from 24 youths and did not test any provider intervention.