Sensing the situation : A qualitative study investigating child health service nurses’ experiences of supporting and talking with families about overweight and obesity

Sammanfattning: The Swedish child health services (CHS) is an important arena for health promotion and reducing inequalities in health. Addressing overweight has shown to be challenging for nurses. The aim of this study was to investigate CHS nurses’ experiences of supporting and talking with parents and children about overweight and obesity. An inductive, qualitative approach was used, and semi-structured interviews were made with ten CHS nurses working in different CHS-centers. The transcribed material was analyzed by thematic analysis. The findings highlight the sensitivity of the topic, and that the conversation is dependent on parents’ reactions and strategies used by nurses for handling a difficult situation. Nurses emphasized that the ultimate responsibility lies with the parents but to some extent also rests on the nurse. Nurses expressed an intention to have the child’s best in mind in their conversations. A wish for clearer guidelines, more knowledge and collaboration were emphasized regarding prerequisites for nurses’ future work. With this study highlighting difficulties experienced by CHS nurses regarding overweight and obesity, it might contribute to customize educational efforts and interventions aimed for the CHS. This may improve care for these families, being of importance from an individual as well as a public health perspective.