Sexual harassment exposure among junior high school students in Norway: prevalence and associated factors.

Background: Sexual harassment is common in most countries and cultures. Less is known about sexual harassment, its risk factors, and psychosocial outcomes among young adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine the 12-month prevalence of sexual harassment exposure, and sociodemographic and psychosocial factors associated with exposure among junior high school students in Norway. Methods: A comprehensive cross-sectional study was completed by 83,297 Norwegian adolescents in junior high school in 2021. Data on exposure to sexual harassment were used in combination with sociodemographic measures and psychosocial outcomes: depressive symptoms, loneliness, self-esteem, and well-being. Group differences were analyzed with Chi Square tests, and sociodemographic risk factors were analyzed with logistic regression. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed with multivariate and univariate ANOVAs, and dose-response relationships were assessed with linear regression. Results: Among the adolescents, 32.6% had experienced sexual harassment during the past year. Girls had higher odds of exposure (OR: 1.90, 95% CI: 1.84-1.96), whereas adolescents whose parents had higher education had lower odds (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90-0.99). Exposure was associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms (partial η2 [ES] = 0.11) and loneliness (ES = 0.07), and with lower self-esteem (ES = 0.06) and well-being (ES = 0.06). Among exposed adolescents, more frequent exposure was associated with poorer outcomes. Conclusion: Exposure to sexual harassment affects one third of junior high school students in Norway. Those who are exposed have poorer psychosocial outcomes, and there is a dose-response relationship between exposure and outcomes. Awareness of sexual harassment among young adolescents, and interventions to prevent and reduce it, are needed.

Health Care Personnel's Perspectives on Quality of Palliative Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Cross-Sectional Study.

Purpose: The provision of high-quality palliative care is challenging, especially during a pandemic like COVID-19. The latter entailed major consequences for health care systems and health care personnel (HCP) in both specialist and community health care services, in Norway and worldwide. The aim of this study was to explore how the HCP perceived the quality of palliative care in nursing homes, medical care units, and intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study had a cross-sectional design. A total of 290 HCP from Norway participated in the study (RR = 25.8%) between October and December 2021. The questionnaire comprised items concerning respondents' demographics and quality of care, the latter measured by the short form of the Quality from the Patient's Perspective-Palliative Care instrument, adapted for HCP. The STROBE checklist was used. Results: This study shows that the HCP scored subjective importance as higher in all dimensions, items and single items than their perception of the actual care received. This could indicate a need for improvement in all areas. Information about medication, opportunity to participate in decisions about medical and nursing care and continuity regarding receiving help from the same physician and nurse are examples of areas for improvement. Conclusion: Study results indicate that HCP from nursing homes, medical care units, and intensive care units perceived that quality of palliative care provided was not in line with what they perceived to be important for the patient. This indicate that it was challenging to provide high-quality palliative care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Public health nurses' experiences working with children who are next of kin: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: There are a substantial number of children who are the next of kin of parents suffering from illness or substance abuse. These children can experience emotional and behavioral problems and may need support from professionals. In Norway, the specialist health service in hospitals is required to have a designated practitioner in each department to ensure support for and follow up of children who are next of kin; however, this is not regulated by law in the health care in the municipalities. The aim of this study was to explore public health nurse's experiences working with children who are next of kin. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted with 10 public health nurses working in the child health clinic and the school health service in four municipalities. Data were analysed using content analysis. Reporting of this study is conducted in accordance to COREQ's checklist. RESULTS: The analysis resulted in one main theme: 'Lack of guidelines and routines among public health nurses working with children who are next of kin'. The main theme consisted of four categories: (1) identifying children who are next of kin are incidental; (2) public health nurses must be observant and willing to act; (3) communication is an important tool; and (4) follow up over time is not always provided. CONCLUSION: The public health nurses experienced uncertainty concerning how to identify and follow up children who are next of kin but were vigilant and willing to act in the children's best interest. Doing so necessitated collaboration with other professionals. The need for guidelines around the role and responsibilities for the public health nurse were emphasized. The knowledge provided by the current study offers valuable insight into strengths and limitations in the support of children who are next of kin and can inform stakeholders in organizing sustainable support for this group.

Associations between Mental Health, Lifestyle Factors and Worries about Climate Change in Norwegian Adolescents.

Climate change is a serious global health threat that has an impact on young people's lives and may influence their mental health. Since the global climate strike movement, many adolescents have expressed worries about climate change. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the prevalence of worries about climate change, and factors associated with worries about climate change, in a representative sample of Norwegian adolescents. Data were retrieved from Ungdata, an annual nationwide online youth survey. Adolescents (n = 128,484) from lower and upper secondary school participated in the study. Data were analysed descriptively and with logistic regression. Most of the adolescents were not worried or a little worried about climate change. Girls, pupils who had at least one parent with higher education and pupils from urban areas were more inclined to worry about the climate. Adolescents who worried about the climate had more symptoms of depression than those who were less worried. While worry about climate change may constitute an additional burden for adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms, such worry can also be seen to reflect climate-friendly values.

Public health nurses' perceptions of interprofessional collaboration related to adolescents' mental health problems in secondary schools: A phenomenographic study.

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.

Experiences of interprofessional collaboration in a special school programme for adolescents who struggle with school life: an explorative study.

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.

Gender differences in symptoms of depression among adolescents in Eastern Norway: Results from a cross-sectional study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to compare and describe gender differences and the associations between symptoms of depression and family conflict and economics, lifestyle habits, school satisfaction and the use of health-care services among adolescents. METHODS: Data were retrieved from Ungdata which is a cross-sectional study. Adolescents ( n=8052) from secondary school grades 8, 9 and 10 (age 13-16 years) participated in the study from 41 municipal schools in four counties. RESULTS: Girls reported a higher prevalence of symptoms of depression than boys. Gender differences were seen on all items related to symptoms of depression, family conflict and economics, lifestyle habits, school satisfaction and health-care services. Multiple regressions showed that family conflicts and economics contributed to 19.2% of the variance in symptoms of depression in girls and 12.4% in boys. School satisfaction made a strong contribution: 21.5% in girls and 15.4% in boys. The total model explained 49% of the total variance in symptoms of depression in girls and 32.5% in boys. CONCLUSIONS: Gender demonstrated a pattern through a higher proportion of girls reporting symptoms of depression, family conflict and economics, lifestyle habits, school satisfaction and use of health-care services. Even though the adolescents reported symptoms of depression, few used the school health-care services and public health nurses. This indicates that they need a person-centered approach for symptoms of depression. The findings may have important implications for planning for adolescents in school health services.

Parents' experiences of their premature infants' transportation from a university hospital NICU to the NICU at two local hospitals.

The aim of this study was to describe how the parents of premature infants experience the transportation of their baby from the neonatal intensive care unit at a university hospital (NICU-U) to such a unit at a local hospital (NICU-L). This descriptive qualitative study comprises interviews with nine sets of parents and two mothers. The qualitative content analysis resulted in one theme: living in uncertainty about whether the baby will survive, and three categories: being distanced from the baby; fearing that something would happen to the baby during transportation; and experiencing closeness to the baby. The results also revealed that the parents experienced developmental, situational and health-illness transitions.