ABSTRACT
Background
Childhood overweight poses health risks and often persists in adulthood, making early intervention essential. Swedish Child Health Service (CHS) nurses are responsible for addressing this issue, a task perceived as important yet challenging. When supporting these families, a caring approach is crucial for well-being and adherence. Childhood overweight is often associated with parental overweight. Due to the sensitivity and stigma surrounding adult overweight, healthcare professionals may experience discomfort, potentially leading to negatively perceived interactions. Despite these challenges, little is known about how parental overweight influences CHS nurses’ approach in encounters regarding children’s overweight. Therefore, this study aimed to explore how CHS nurses experience providing support to parents with overweight during clinical encounters about their child’s overweight.
Methods
Qualitative descriptive, inductive design was applied. Individual semi-structured digital interviews were conducted with 14 CHS nurses, and transcripts were analysed using latent content analysis.
Results
Four categories were identified: feeling insecurity regarding professional role, focusing on concrete aspects of health, questioning the parent and trying to influence the parent. CHS nurses perceived addressing the child’s overweight as their primary duty. They focused on weight-related aspects of the child’s health, emphasising lifestyle advice, while parents’ emotions or socioeconomic challenges risked being overlooked. Parental overweight could trigger negative assumptions, including doubts about parents’ ability to support their child. When children’s weight curve remained unchanged, frustration sometimes led CHS nurses to emphasise parental responsibility or use threats, such as involving child welfare services.
Conclusion
This study highlights how CHS nurses perceive both challenges and responsibility in addressing childhood overweight, difficulties that intensify when parents themselves have overweight. The findings suggest that while striving to fulfil their role and balance professional responsibility with maintaining a supportive and caring approach, CHS nurses’ are sometimes shaped by weight stigma.