Public Health Nurses – a resource for detecting stuttering

Public health nurses are one group of early childhood professionals that have regular contact with young children and also expertise in childhood development. This makes public health nurses important for the EST-project of several reasons. First, combing different competencies in early childhood development makes the team better positioned to carry out this project. Secondly, since the majority of Norwegian children are regularly in contact with public health nurses, they play a important role in enhancing parents’ knowledge about stuttering and distributing information about the project. Given this, this blog post is dedicated to the work that public health nurses do and their competence as early childhood health professionals.

Picture from pexel.com

Norwegian public health nurses are authorized nurses with post bachelor or a master education with specialist qualification in public health nursing. The health care service is a part of the municipal health services that cover the need for nursing services in health promotion and preventive work. Public Health nurses has informative, guiding and advisory tasks within national health programs.

The tasks are mainly linked to the health center for children 0-5 years, school health service in primary and secondary school and health center for youth. The public health nurses follow national healthcare program with 14 consultations, including a home visit to the newborn. The health service also includes environmental protection and refugee health services. Public Health nurses provides services to all children and adolescents with a systematic health offer from "cradle to adult", and with this effort public health nurses is a key player in the municipalities' public health work.

Public health nurses are usually assigned a geographical area where they carry out immunizing and national screening and health programs. Public health nurses give advice and counsel both individuals and groups. Almost 100% of the Norwegian families avail themselves of the services at child health centers-

The aim of the healthcare program is:

• That parents experience coping in parenting

• To contribute to good interaction between parents and children

• To promote physical, mental and social development among infant and toddlers

• Prevent, ward off and uncover violence, abuse and neglect

• Uncovering developmental physical and mental disabilities

• To ensure that children receive follow-up and referring to specialist if necessary

At both 2 years and 4 years consultation, speech and language has a special focus in the health program. Special developed language and speech tests for the children are performed to detect needs for follow-up. Language and speech problems in children are also an important part of the public health nurse education. Public health nurses work in multidisciplinary teams like schools teachers, pedagogic-psycologic services, doctors and other health personnel. Small children regularly attend primary health nurse consultations, thus the public health nurses are an important resource for detecting and providing help for children in language and speech problems, such as stuttering.

 Picture from pexel.com

Written by EST-member Elisabeth Holm Hansen

References:

Norwegian Nurses Association, (2008) Professional interest group of public health nurses: “Mer enn et sprøytestikk”  Available at: https://www.nsf.no/Content/396553/cache=20162106125759/Helses%C3%B8ster_web1.pdf

Clancy, A., Leahy-Warren, P., Day, MR., Mulcahy, H. (2013).Primary health care: comparing public health nursing models in Ireland and Norway. Nurs Res Pract.2013:426107. doi: 10.1155/2013/426107.  

Dahl, BM. (2018) Challenges and demands in the population-based work of public health nurses. Scand J Public Health. 46:53-58. doi:10.1177/1403494817743897.