Parents' Experiences of Communication With School Nurses About Their Child's Weight Development in Sweden.
Caroline Skantze, Gerd Almqvist-Tangen, Maria Nyholm and 1 others
PMID 38130128WHAT IT FOUND
Parents described school nurse health visits as unclear, with little feedback and no access to growth charts.
They wanted a digital channel, child-centered talks, and collaboration around their child's weight and context. This is experience, not proof.
Key findings
01Parents said they did not understand the purpose of the school health visit and often received little feedback about their child's growth.
02Parents wanted a reliable digital channel and direct access to their child's growth data and charts, especially after moving from child health care to school health.
03Parents wanted school nurses to focus on the child's whole context and build a safe relationship with the child, not only on measurements.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only a small purposive sample of parents, so it cannot show how common these experiences are. Parents were recruited through school communication systems and contacted the first author if interested, so more engaged parents may be over-represented. The study was done in south-west Sweden, so it may not apply to other countries or school health systems. Children were not interviewed, and the paper does not report whether the children had overweight or obesity.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was funded by Halmstad University and Region Halland.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this study shows a school nurse communication method improves children's weight. It describes parents' experiences and wants, without testing any intervention or measuring child health outcomes.