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Professionella perspektiv inom elevhälsan - En kvalitativ studie om skolkuratorers och skolsköterskors arbete med hälsofrämjande och förebyggande insatser

Syrén, Hanna LU and Stenström, Nellie LU (2025) SOPB63 20251
School of Social Work
Abstract
Mental health issues among Swedish school children are a recurring concern. Although school health teams are legally assigned to primarily work on health promotion and prevention, previous evaluations have found these efforts to be insufficient. Based on our own observations during a school-based internship, we noticed how school nurses and school counselors carry out this work differently. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how these professions perceive and perform their health-promoting and preventive roles in practice. This study is based on qualitative interviews with 4 school counselors and 5 school nurses in Swedish elementary schools, analyzed with the help of role theory. The results show that both professions... (More)
Mental health issues among Swedish school children are a recurring concern. Although school health teams are legally assigned to primarily work on health promotion and prevention, previous evaluations have found these efforts to be insufficient. Based on our own observations during a school-based internship, we noticed how school nurses and school counselors carry out this work differently. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how these professions perceive and perform their health-promoting and preventive roles in practice. This study is based on qualitative interviews with 4 school counselors and 5 school nurses in Swedish elementary schools, analyzed with the help of role theory. The results show that both professions highlight accessibility, visibility, and relationship-building as predominant in their line of work. However, the study also emphasizes challenges such as unclear role descriptions, differing expectations, and limited structural support. School counselors in particular describe higher levels of role ambiguity, which may preclude work with proactive health promotion. The findings also indicate that unclear professional boundaries affect not only individual practice but also interprofessional collaboration in the student health teams. This aligns with previous research and supports the need for clearer role definitions and stronger leadership, as emphasized by the current government directive En förbättrad elevhälsa (Dir. 2024:30). (Less)
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author
Syrén, Hanna LU and Stenström, Nellie LU
supervisor
organization
course
SOPB63 20251
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
elevhälsoteam, skolkurator, skolsköterska, hälsofrämjande, förebyggande, interprofessionellt samarbete student health teams, school counselor, school nurse, health promotion, prevention, interprofessional collaboration
language
Swedish
id
9210968
date added to LUP
2025-09-01 16:35:47
date last changed
2025-09-01 16:35:47
@misc{9210968,
  abstract     = {{Mental health issues among Swedish school children are a recurring concern. Although school health teams are legally assigned to primarily work on health promotion and prevention, previous evaluations have found these efforts to be insufficient. Based on our own observations during a school-based internship, we noticed how school nurses and school counselors carry out this work differently. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how these professions perceive and perform their health-promoting and preventive roles in practice. This study is based on qualitative interviews with 4 school counselors and 5 school nurses in Swedish elementary schools, analyzed with the help of role theory. The results show that both professions highlight accessibility, visibility, and relationship-building as predominant in their line of work. However, the study also emphasizes challenges such as unclear role descriptions, differing expectations, and limited structural support. School counselors in particular describe higher levels of role ambiguity, which may preclude work with proactive health promotion. The findings also indicate that unclear professional boundaries affect not only individual practice but also interprofessional collaboration in the student health teams. This aligns with previous research and supports the need for clearer role definitions and stronger leadership, as emphasized by the current government directive En förbättrad elevhälsa (Dir. 2024:30).}},
  author       = {{Syrén, Hanna and Stenström, Nellie}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Professionella perspektiv inom elevhälsan - En kvalitativ studie om skolkuratorers och skolsköterskors arbete med hälsofrämjande och förebyggande insatser}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}