Purpose This study aimed to explore child health care nurses' clinical experiences from encounters with mothers exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV), as little research has explored this topic. Method Nine child health care nurses from two Swedish regions were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Results The narratives depicted the nurses' strong commitment to, and professional relationship with, the exposed mothers. The experience of working as a nurse and having encountered IPV in clinical practice made the nurses more confident, which impacted their performance and attitude towards this topic. The ability to uphold the professional relationship was threatened by lack of support and interprofessional collaborations. Conclusions The professional relationship was central to the encounters, yet could impose an emotional burden on the nurses. While the nurses wanted to improve their knowledge of the process around the mother and child, they were happy to pass the primary responsibility over to other professionals. The findings highlight the challenge in establishing sustainable support for nurses, and building a transparent collaboration process between the health care sector and the social services, serving the well-being and safety of the mother and child.

Aim and objectives: To describe young children's experiences of valuable support in managing their fears about treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. The focus was specifically on support from parents and healthcare professionals. Design: The study had a qualitative descriptive longitudinal design. Methods: The study analysed 35 interviews with 13 children at three different times during their treatment period. Data were analysed using a matrix-based method. The Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) guidelines have been followed. Results: Parents and healthcare professionals provide important support to children undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, although their roles differ. Children valued their parents' closeness and advocacy, being able to participate in their own care, and being given pain relief during procedures known to create pain. Valued support from healthcare professionals changed over time, from providing information and showing the tools that would be used in procedures, to paying attention to the child's needs and desires. It was more important for children to be able to choose between different alternatives in medical procedures than deciding on major treatment issues.

Mental health problems among adolescents have become a public health issue in Norway. However, few adolescent boys seek help for their mental health problems. This study focus on adolescent boys' experiences related to visiting the public health nurse for mental health problems. Twelve adolescent boys were interviewed and qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. The theme identified from the data was: overcoming barriers to reach for a helping hand. The theme consisted of four categories: the public health nurse must be accessible; breaking the norm is a prerequisite for the adolescent boys to talk about mental health problems; ensuring that confidentiality is respected; and the public health nurse is a trustworthy person who can open up for new perspectives. The adolescent boys experienced barriers to visiting the public health nurse. When they had crossed these barriers, the visit was experienced as positive.

Objective: To describe variations in critical care nurses’ perceptions of handover. Research methodology: Phenomenographic design using individual interviews for data-collection. Setting: The critical care nurses participating in the study were recruited from critical care units in three hospitals in Sweden. Findings: Five descriptive categories were identified: Communication between staff, Opportunity for learning, Patient-centred information gathering as a basis for continuous care, Responsibility for transfers, and Patient safety and quality of care. Conclusion: Nursing handover is a complex phenomenon, which is understood in various ways. Handover is mediated through communication and marks a shift in responsibility. Handover seems to be related to patient safety and quality of care. There is potential for improvement in the quality of nursing handover in clinical praxis, but further research is needed to determine ways of improving quality of handover.

Background and Purpose: After stroke, asymmetric weight distribution is common with decreased balance control in standing and walking. The six-spot step test (SSST) includes a 5-m walk during which one leg shoves wooden blocks out of circles marked on the floor, thus assessing the ability to take load on each leg. The aim of the present study was to investigate the convergent and discriminant validity and test–retest reliability of the SSST in persons with stroke. Methods: Eighty-one participants were included. A cross-sectional study was performed, in which the SSST was conducted twice, 3–7 days apart. Validity was investigated using measures of dynamic balance and walking. Reliability was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of the measurement (SEM), and smallest real difference (SRD). Results: The convergent validity was strong to moderate, and the test–retest reliability was good. The SEM% was 14.7%, and the SRD% was 40.8% based on the mean of four walks shoving twice with the paretic and twice with the non-paretic leg. Conclusion: Values on random measurement error were high affecting the use of the SSST for follow-up evaluations but the SSST can be a complementary measure of gait and balance.

A growing proportion of adolescents struggle with school life and could benefit from special school programmes. School could be an arena for supporting such adolescents and, to meet these challenges, interprofessional collaboration (IPC) has been recommended for better health. The aim of the present study was to explore the experience of IPC in a special school programme offered to adolescents who struggle with school life–from the perspective of the professionals involved. Focus group interviews were carried out with four groups and fourteen participants, and the focus groups included two to five participants each. The focus group interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The analyses from this study resulted in a main theme: IPC in the special school programme is unpredictable. Five categories emerged from the data, including: variations in initiative, significance of individual characteristics, informal and formal contact, lack of criteria and goals, and different obligations. The participants described IPC as differing from case to case, with a lack of criteria and goals for adolescents in the special school programme. They experienced the random nature of whoever took the initiative to collaborate, and that confidentiality and the different documentation requirements could affect IPC.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the fears of 5- to 9-year-old children related to having acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and their strategies for coping with those fears. Design and methods: The study had a qualitative descriptive longitudinal design and included a total of 35 interviews with 13 children at three different times during their treatment period. Data were analyzed using a matrixbased method inspired by the work of Miles et al. Results: Initially, most children reported a fear of needles. but during the treatment period, fewer children reported this fear. Children's coping strategies also changed over time, as they wanted more involvement and control during needle-related procedures. Other fears were having adhesive tapes removed, having a nasogastric tube, and taking tablets. During the treatment period, existential fears related to the seriousness of ALL and its consequences, such as having impaired physical fitness and being different from before and different from others, became more prominent and caused feelings of loneliness and alienation. Conclusions: The children described various fears through their treatment period, which they coped with using cognitive, emotional, and functional strategies. Over the 2.5-year period, their strategies changed. Practical implications: Because fears changed over time and varied among these different children, each child must be approached individually and attentively in every encounter. 

Aims and objectives: To describe the variation in public health nurses' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration related to adolescents' mental health problems in secondary schools in Norway. Background: Mental health problems among adolescents account for a large portion of the global burden of disease and affect 10%–20% of adolescents worldwide. Public health nurses in school health services play an important role in disease prevention and promotion of physical and mental health. In order to serve adolescents with regard to mental health problems, public health nurses are dependent on collaboration with other professionals in schools. Design: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 18 public health nurses working in the school health services. Method: A phenomenographic approach was used for interviewing and for analysing the qualitative interviews. This study is presented in line with COREQ's checklist. Result: The analysis resulted in three descriptive categories based on eight identified conceptions. The categories are as follows: “The formal structure has an impact on interprofessional collaboration”; “The public health nurse is an important, but not always self-evident, partner in interprofessional collaboration”; and “The primary players are the teachers in collaboration.”. Conclusion: The public health nurses describe that they had limited impact on collaboration and were dependent on both the school principal and the teachers for achieving good collaboration. Teachers have the power to decide whether to collaborate with the public health nurse, and public health nurses regard teachers as the most important collaborative partners. The public health nurses need to make themselves and their competence visible. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings demonstrated that public health nurses are important collaborators, but are not always included in interprofessional collaboration. This knowledge is essential to strengthen public health nurses' roles and presence in schools, which could most certainly benefit adolescents with mental health problems in secondary school.