To explore how public health nurses at child and family health clinics work to prevent maltreatment and the experiences of public health nurses in the maltreatment prevention efforts.
Child maltreatment is a serious societal issue with major consequences. Preventive efforts are increasing and have broad political support. A key objective of the child and family health clinic services is to prevent, identify, and stop maltreatment, abuse, and neglect. National clinical guidelines outline, in general terms, how such work should be conducted. However, limited research exists on how public health nurses prevent maltreatment and the effectiveness of their methods.
A qualitative and explorative design was used, based on semi-structured interviews with 14 public health nurses conducted as part of the project ‘Public Health Nurses in Child and Family Clinics' Role in Preventing and Detecting Child Maltreatment’ at Oslo Metropolitan University. The interviews were carried out between August and November 2021. We used qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach to analyse the data.
Three main categories were developed: 1. Structure and system: weaving prevention into daily practice; 2. To dare and endure: a negotiation of courage and understanding, and 3. To empower and uphold: the goal of strengthening and supporting parents. The results show the importance of early intervention, barriers to discussing maltreatment with parents, and the importance of building trust and empowering parents.
Preventing maltreatment is a key part of public health nurses' clinical work, focusing on early risk identification and parental guidance. While building trust with families is prioritised, structural, resource, and guideline-related challenges persist.
This study provides knowledge about Norwegian public health nurses clinical work with child maltreatment at the child and family health clinics, which can serve as a valuable foundation for further research as well as for collaborating services.
EQUATOR guidelines were followed, using the COREQ checklist.
No patient or public contribution.
To explore the lived experience of the trusting nurse–patient relationship among patients admitted to internal medicine wards.
A qualitative study guided by van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenological approach.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen hospitalised patients in a Danish University hospital in 2024. Data were analysed through thematic reflection.
The analysis revealed one overarching theme—the journey towards trust: bridging the need to feel safe with the pathways to wellbeing—supported by five subthemes. Trust developed through a dynamic and interpersonal process shaped by the patient's vulnerability, the nurse's actions and their mutual understanding. When trust was present, care was experienced as coherent, meaningful and safe; when absent, it felt disconnected and inadequate.
Trust within the nurse–patient relationship is experienced as a dynamic process shaped by the nurse's presence, authenticity and responsiveness. Rather than a static state, trust unfolds gradually, influencing how patients feel safe, understood and cared for. Relational competence should be recognised as a clinical skill, requiring the same support as technical competencies. Education, leadership and policies must protect interpersonal care. Further research should examine nurses' experiences and interventions that sustain trust.
The findings emphasise the need to recognise relational care as a professional and clinical competence. Supportive environments, relational training and organisational awareness are essential to enable nurses to prioritise trust-based relationships.
This study addresses the challenge of sustaining relational care in time-constrained hospital settings. It offers insight into patients' experiences of trust and highlights key relational behaviours. The findings are relevant for nurses, educators and healthcare leaders aiming to strengthen relational competence and improve patient care quality.
The study adheres to the COREQ reporting guidelines.
This study did not include patient or public involvement in its design, conduct, or reporting.
In this case study conducted in a Danish general practice, we aimed to explore how patients with obesity experience a novel treatment approach: group consultations (GCs) for weight loss, lifestyle changes and semaglutide treatment. To receive semaglutide treatment, patients were required to participate in GCs focused on lifestyle changes.
A qualitative study design comprising individual, semistructured interviews was used. Patients were asked to reflect on and describe their past experiences with participating in GCs. Thematic analysis was used as an analytical strategy.
A general practice located in a larger city in the Region of Southern Denmark.
12 patients (eight women and four men) with obesity, aged between 27 years and 69 years, who met the Danish obesity treatment criteria for semaglutide (body mass index over 30 kg/m2 or over 27 kg/m2 with comorbidities), were included. Data were collected from 1 November 2023 to 31 January 2024.
Before attending GCs, patients were worried about sharing personal information with other patients and losing their confidentiality. They also feared being judged by the others in the group, possibly due to previous experiences of stigmatisation. However, after participating in GCs, patients reported positive experiences with peer sharing, had no issues with confidentiality and found the consultations beneficial. Most patients indicated a preference for GCs over one-on-one consultations in the future.
Despite initial concerns about confidentiality and stigmatisation, patients ultimately had positive experiences and gained valuable peer support during group GCs in general practice. Various aspects of the group design, such as the hybrid consultation format and the role of the facilitator, may impact the effectiveness of peer support and influence patients’ overall experience of GCs.