Adolescent boys' experiences of mental health and school health services - an interview study from Norway.

BACKGROUND: Mental health problems among adolescents is a global challenge. During the transition to adolescence, physiological, psychological, and social changes occur, leading to increased vulnerability. Thus, adolescent boys are less likely to seek help for mental health problems, which makes them an undetected group. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of adolescent boys' experiences of mental health and school health service. METHODS: An inductive, qualitative design was chosen using three focus group interviews and three individual interviews. The study included 18 adolescent boys in 7th grade, in a school located in a medium-sized municipality in Norway. The interviews were analysed with qualitative content analysis. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) were followed in this study. RESULTS: The overall theme "barriers towards seeking help", and three categories- navigating stigma and privacy concerns; perceptions of self-responsibility; and lacking knowledge of mental health problems and help-seeking-described the adolescent boys experiences. The awareness and willingness to seek help were present, but there are barriers preventing the adolescent boys from acting on that willingness. CONCLUSIONS: Lack of knowledge and a non-permissive culture for mental health problems among adolescents contributes to decreased help-seeking behaviour among adolescent boys. The school health service is the most related health service for adolescents and should focus on being available and strengthening empowerment and mental health literacy through the development and implementation of interventions to promote mental health.

Parents' lived experience of early risk assessment for cerebral palsy in their young child using a mobile application after discharge from hospital in the newborn period.

INTRODUCTION: General Movement assessment (GMA) is considered the golden standard for early identification of infants with a high risk of developing cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this study was to explore parents' lived experience of early risk assessment for CP using a mobile application for home video recording after discharge from hospital stay in the newborn period. METHODS: An inductive qualitative design using a hermeneutical phenomenological approach was chosen, and fourteen parents with children at risk of CP were interviewed at home. The hermeneutical phenomenological approach describes humans' lived experiences of a specific phenomenon with a possibility of deeper understanding of the expressed statements. The interviews were analyzed using the fundamental lifeworld existential dimensions as guidelines for describing the parents' lived experience. RESULTS: The overall understanding of the parents' experience was 'Finding control in an uncontrolled life situation'. During the often-long hospitalizations, the parents struggled with loss of control and difficulty in understanding what was going on. The use of the mobile application followed by a swift result made them feel in control and have a brighter view of the future. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that the mobile application did not seem to worry the parents. Instead, it provided the parents with a sense of active participation in the care and treatment of their child. The mobile application should be accompanied with clear instructions and guidelines for the parents and details about how and when the result is given.

For the first time, parents' experiences concerning early assessment for cerebral palsy using a mobile application are profoundly explored.Early risk assessment for cerebral palsy performed by parents at home using a mobile application did not seem to increase the parents' worry; instead, it gave them a sense of control.Involving parents in the care and treatment of their child is vital to increase parental participation and control.

Parental satisfaction with paediatric care with and without the support of an eHealth device: a quasi-experimental study in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: The period after a child is discharged from hospital is generally described as challenging for the parents. Their satisfaction with the health services received is an important indicator of the quality of care. eHealth devices are increasingly used in health care to support communication with parents. Differences in levels of parental satisfaction by modality of provided care or by parental background are largely unknown. This study aimed to describe satisfaction with health care between sociodemographic groups of parents, who either received or did not receive an eHealth device for communication between parents and hospital staff as a supplement to routine care after a child's discharge from neonatal or paediatric surgery departments. METHODS: Data from a quasi-experimental study was collected in the south of Sweden, between 2019 and 2021. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL) Healthcare Satisfaction Generic Module was used to assess the parents' satisfaction with different dimensions of health care. Seventy parents of children hospitalized in a neonatal or a paediatric surgery department were enrolled in intervention (eHealth device, n = 36) and control (no eHealth device, n = 34) groups. RESULTS: The parents reported high overall satisfaction with the health care provided and were also highly satisfied within different dimensions of care. Moreover, they reported high satisfaction with using an eHealth device, although having support from the eHealth device was related to neither higher nor lower levels of satisfaction with care. There was a significant difference between fathers and mothers in the multivariate sub-analysis in certain instances regarding satisfaction with communication and the level of inclusion. CONCLUSIONS: Parents were very satisfied with the health care provided, whether or not they received eHealth. Further research looking at groups with and without the support of an eHealth device is required to further develop future paediatric and neonatal care interventions. Communication and support through eHealth can be a tool to alleviate the distress parents experience after their child's hospital admission, accommodate the family's transfer to home, and increase satisfaction with care, but it needs to be evaluated before being implemented. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials NCT04150120, first registration 4/11/2019.

We have needes, too: parenteral needs during a child's hospitalisation

The influence of demographic characteristics on the perceived needs of parents in a sample of staff and parents of admitted children in a paediatric hospital in Sweden were examined as part of a project in Sweden, England, Indonesia and Australia. Over 100 parents and 100 staff responded and responses compared, including perceived importance of each of the 51 needs. Few needs were influenced by demography of either staff or parents, except for a) to meet other parents of a child with a similar condition; b) not to feel blamed for a child's illness, and c) to have access to a social worker. The influencing characteristics were a) whether the responding parent was the child's mother or father, b) their education level, and c) if staff held specialist paediatric qualifications. For nine needs all parents and staff agreed that they were important. These findings provide ways to enhance communication between parents and staff and provide evidence about the effects of hospitalisation on children.