Childhood overweight and obesity conceived by Child Health Care nurses: a qualitative study.
Isma, Gabriella LU ; Bramhagen, Ann-Cathrine LU ; Ahlström, Gerd LU
; Ostman, Margareta
and Dykes, Anna-Karin
LU
(2012)
In BMC Family Practice
13(57).
- Abstract
- Background: Registered Sick Children's Nurses and District Nurses employed at Child Health Care centres are in a position to help prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Prevention of this challenging public health threat could be improved through having a better understanding of how this group of nurses perceives childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the conceptions of childhood overweight, including obesity, among nurses working in Child Health Care. Method: A qualitative study using a phenomenographic approach, based on open-ended interviews with 18 Child Health Care nurses (CHC-nurses) strategically selected from 17 Child Health Care Centres in the southern part of Sweden. Results: Four categories of description... (More)
- Background: Registered Sick Children's Nurses and District Nurses employed at Child Health Care centres are in a position to help prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Prevention of this challenging public health threat could be improved through having a better understanding of how this group of nurses perceives childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the conceptions of childhood overweight, including obesity, among nurses working in Child Health Care. Method: A qualitative study using a phenomenographic approach, based on open-ended interviews with 18 Child Health Care nurses (CHC-nurses) strategically selected from 17 Child Health Care Centres in the southern part of Sweden. Results: Four categories of description emerged from the data: Perception of childhood overweight changes, Overweight in younger children a neglected concern, Overweight a delicate issue and Importance of family lifestyle. The participating CHC-nurses conceived overweight in children, primarily obesity in children to be an extensive and serious problem which affects children, families and the surrounding society. Overweight in children was further perceived as a consequence of their parent's lifestyle and their awareness of the problem, which was considered by the CHC-nurses as a sensitive and a provoking issue. It was also perceived that overweight in children is not taken seriously during the pre-school period and that concerns regarding overweight in younger children were mainly about the appearance and not the health of the child. The CHC-nurses perceived that the proportion of overweight children has increased, which Swedish society and the CHC-nurses have adapted to. This adaptation makes it difficult for CHC-nurses to define those children who are overweight. Conclusion: CHC-nurses provide a comprehensive and complex picture of childhood overweight, which includes several difficulties dealing with this issue. Attention to CHC-nurse's conceptions of overweight in children is important since it can affect the parent-nurse relationship and thereby the nurse's, as well as the parent's efforts to influence the children's weight. It is suggested that CHC nurses should work with person centered counseling and empowerment concerning parent to child relations in cases involving overweight. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3403825
- author
- Isma, Gabriella
LU
; Bramhagen, Ann-Cathrine
LU
; Ahlström, Gerd
LU
; Ostman, Margareta
and Dykes, Anna-Karin
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2012
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- BMC Family Practice
- volume
- 13
- issue
- 57
- publisher
- BioMed Central (BMC)
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84865427128
- wos:000307939900001
- pmid:22697580
- ISSN
- 1471-2296
- DOI
- 10.1186/1471-2296-13-57
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Division of Nursing (Closed 2012) (013065000), The Vårdal Institute (016540000), Preventive Paediatrics (013243030)
- id
- 01a69dce-4589-4352-bd28-defcc7d65872 (old id 3403825)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 12:57:17
- date last changed
- 2022-02-11 18:28:21
@article{01a69dce-4589-4352-bd28-defcc7d65872,
abstract = {{Background: Registered Sick Children's Nurses and District Nurses employed at Child Health Care centres are in a position to help prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Prevention of this challenging public health threat could be improved through having a better understanding of how this group of nurses perceives childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the conceptions of childhood overweight, including obesity, among nurses working in Child Health Care. Method: A qualitative study using a phenomenographic approach, based on open-ended interviews with 18 Child Health Care nurses (CHC-nurses) strategically selected from 17 Child Health Care Centres in the southern part of Sweden. Results: Four categories of description emerged from the data: Perception of childhood overweight changes, Overweight in younger children a neglected concern, Overweight a delicate issue and Importance of family lifestyle. The participating CHC-nurses conceived overweight in children, primarily obesity in children to be an extensive and serious problem which affects children, families and the surrounding society. Overweight in children was further perceived as a consequence of their parent's lifestyle and their awareness of the problem, which was considered by the CHC-nurses as a sensitive and a provoking issue. It was also perceived that overweight in children is not taken seriously during the pre-school period and that concerns regarding overweight in younger children were mainly about the appearance and not the health of the child. The CHC-nurses perceived that the proportion of overweight children has increased, which Swedish society and the CHC-nurses have adapted to. This adaptation makes it difficult for CHC-nurses to define those children who are overweight. Conclusion: CHC-nurses provide a comprehensive and complex picture of childhood overweight, which includes several difficulties dealing with this issue. Attention to CHC-nurse's conceptions of overweight in children is important since it can affect the parent-nurse relationship and thereby the nurse's, as well as the parent's efforts to influence the children's weight. It is suggested that CHC nurses should work with person centered counseling and empowerment concerning parent to child relations in cases involving overweight.}},
author = {{Isma, Gabriella and Bramhagen, Ann-Cathrine and Ahlström, Gerd and Ostman, Margareta and Dykes, Anna-Karin}},
issn = {{1471-2296}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{57}},
publisher = {{BioMed Central (BMC)}},
series = {{BMC Family Practice}},
title = {{Childhood overweight and obesity conceived by Child Health Care nurses: a qualitative study.}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/8181582/3216618.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1186/1471-2296-13-57}},
volume = {{13}},
year = {{2012}},
}