Norwegian pre-service teacher students’ and public health nursing students’ views on health – a qualitative study of students’ perceptions

ABSTRACT

Purpose

In 2020, the Norwegian school curriculum was revised, introducing a new cross-curricular subject, Public Health, and Life Skills. The curriculum emphasizes collaboration between teachers and the school health service. Subsequently, a research project, Literacies for Health and Life Skills, was initiated at Oslo Metropolitan University. The aim was to develop a new approach to the subject. A part of the research was to explore perceptions about good and poor health among teacher students and public health nursing students.

Methods

This study has a qualitative design using auto-photography, group discussions and photo-elicitation interviews as methods to explore the students’ views on health.

Results

A analysis revealed three themes about good health in both student groups: Relaxation and tranquillity, belonging and relations, and enjoyment as important to health. Three themes about poor health emerged in both student groups: The ideal body and self-perception, you are as healthy as you feel, and the best in life is also the worst. The students’ statements were characterized by underlying assumptions about health in society, with a focus on “healthism”. No major differences between the student groups were found.

Conclusion

This study serves as a step towards increased understanding of health perceptions among future professionals working with children and adolescents.

KEYWORDS:

• Health
• life-skills
• curriculum
• public health nursing students
• teacher students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2024.2322705

Notes

1. From 2022, the public health nursing education became a two-year master’s in health sciences degree, with specialization in public health nursing.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the The Research Council of Norway.

Notes on contributors

Turid Kristin Bigum Sundar

Turid Kristin Bigum Sundar has a PhD from the University of Oslo, Norway. She conducted her PhD on school children with overweight and their experiences with participation in an internet-based intervention to increase physical activity, improve physical fitness and quality of life. She is employed as an associate professor at the master’s degree programme in health sciences, with specialization in public health nursing, at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. Her research focus is on school children, overweight and physical activity interventions, quality of life, well-being and health care, and public health nursing students’ clinical practice.

Hanna Sargenius

Hanna L. Sargénius has a PhD in psychology and is a post-doctoral researcher at the Department of Psychology, section of cognition and neurosciences, University of Oslo, Norway. She conducted her doctoral studies on medical interventions of morbid obesity and neuropsychological functioning at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. Her research focus today is cognitive interventions for improving executive functions and fatigue in pediatric acquired brain injury and explore long-term quality of life outcomes.

Lisbeth Gravdal Kvarme

Lisbeth Gravdal Kvarme has a PhD from the University of Bergen, Norway. She conducted her PhD on self-efficacy and health-related quality of life in socially vulnerable school children. She is employed as professor at the master’s degree programme in health sciences, with specialization in public health nursing, at Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. Her research focus is on vulnerable school children, bullying, quality of life and self-efficacy.

Bente Sparboe-Nilsen

Bente Sparboe-Nilsen has a PhD from Örebro University in Sweden. She conducted her doctoral studies on growth among schoolchildren at Faculty of Business, Science and Engineering, Örebro University, Sweden. She is employed as an associate professor at the master’s degree programme in health sciences, with specialization in public health nursing, at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Promotion at Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway. Her research focusses primary today on deviant growth patterns such as overweight and underweight among children, pedagogic and child abuse.