Reading the signs in health visits-Perspectives of adolescents with migration experiences on encounters with school nurses.
Emmie Wahlström, Maria Harder, Inger K Holmström and 2 others
PMID 38890791WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with migration experiences said they watched school nurses' tone, patience and engagement to decide whether to share.
Feeling taken seriously, safe and not labelled as different made them speak; distrust or assumptions made them hide concerns.
Key findings
01Adolescents said their willingness to talk about health shifted as they interpreted the school nurse's communication and judged whether the nurse seemed interested, caring and neutral.
02They felt safer when the nurse explained what would happen, but disliked unnecessary questioning.
03They wanted to be treated as unique individuals, not singled out, and rejected assumptions based on migration.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study explored experiences from a small group of adolescents, so it cannot show that any communication behaviour improves disclosure or health outcomes. All participants could communicate in Swedish without an interpreter, so it says little about adolescents who need language support. The sample was heterogeneous in age, gender, school level and migration background, and results may transfer only to similar Swedish school settings. Recruitment was affected by pandemic pauses and school nurses' difficulty finding interested adolescents. Some focus groups had fewer participants than planned. The researchers had not migrated and did not have parents who had migrated, which may have shaped interpretation.
Declared interests
No specific funding grant was reported; the research was conducted as part of employment at Mälardalen University, and the authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that these communication behaviours will increase adolescent disclosure or improve health outcomes. This is a qualitative study of adolescents' experiences, not a test of an intervention.