Family-school nurse partnership in primary school health care

Abstract

Background: The foundation of the health and well-being of a child in primary school age is the family. To promote the child's comprehensive health, we must develop the cooperation between the family and the primary school nurse.

Aim: The aim of the study was to develop a family nursing oriented substantive theory of cooperation between primary school nurses and families.

Method: The study used grounded theory based on Straussian principles. Data were collected from sixth-graders (N = 22) using group discussions. Interviews were conducted with parents (N = 19), and the views of school nurses (N = 20) on their cooperation with families were obtained via free form essays.

Findings: The core concept of the theory describing cooperation between primary school nurses and families is problem-based communication. As a result of the analysis, nine-2-dimensional concepts were formed to describe this cooperation. The theory is structured further by four dimensions, which contain concepts explaining them and which also describe the relationships between the different concepts. These dimensions are the meeting between the school nurse and the family, mutual exchange of information, attending to the child's health monitoring and being at school for the child and family. The substantive theory describing cooperation between the primary school nurse and family entails the concepts formed in the analysis, their interrelationships, as well as, the core concept.

Conclusions: Primary school nurses can apply the resulting theory while working with families and while developing this cooperation. This theory can also be implemented in developing nursing education.