Barn är oslagbara BVC-sjuksköterskors erfarenheter av primärpreventivt arbete för att barn inte ska fara illa i sin hemmiljö
Introduction: Child maltreatment, perpetrated by a caregiver, is a major health problem. The child suffers not only at the instance the abuse or maltreatment occurs, the consequences may persist into adulthood. The specialist nurse in child health (CHN), who works at a child health care unit, comes across almost every child growing up in Sweden. The CHN has an opportunity to implement primary prevention with the family during the child's first years. Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the CHN experiences regarding primary prevention to avoid domestic child maltreatment. Method: Four CHN?s were interviewed. Collected data material has been analyzed based on a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Results: Three categories are presented; To raise awareness about child environment focusing on the importance of talking about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome), abusive head trauma and child safety with the parents and also the importance of asking uncomfortable questions about violence and alcohol in the family. In To be a supportive person the CHN?s emphasizes the importance of establishing a good relationship with the family, to perform support both individually and in groups and to promote a good attachment between parents and child. To cooperate with other professions emphasizes the CHN experience of collaboration with other professionals and opportunities for improvement in cooperation. Discussion: The CHN plays an important role to educate and support the parents to help them grow in their parenting role. To have a holistic view of the child necessities, a family-centered care is required by the CHN. Conclusion: A lot of the CHN?s work is aimed to prevent child maltreatment and for the child to get as safe upbringing as possible. The CHN?s in the study doesn?t declare if they give verbal information about corporal punishment being forbidden by law, but the large-scale study needs to be performed in order to draw any conclusions. In further research parents' experiences of the CHN's primary preventive work may be interesting to study.