- Bettina Holmberg Fagerlund: Faculty of Health Sciences, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway. ORCID
- Kari Glavin: Faculty of Health Sciences, VID Specialized University, Oslo, Norway.
AIM: To investigate reflections of public health nurses (PHNs) on implementing the New Families programme, a supplement to the usual Norwegian child health centre programme. It involves user-led decisions on the content and number of home visits offered by the family's PHN from pregnancy week 28 until the child is 2 years.
DESIGN: An interpretive description approach.
METHODS: Altogether 206 anonymized, undated reflection notes by PHNs becoming familiar with the programme were collected in 2017-2020. NVivo 12 and inductive content analysis were used to convert the data into manageable segments.
RESULTS: Focusing on childhood experiences and parental role expectations among prospective parents during home visits was seen as a major shift in the nurses' counselling strategy. Providing relevant information to the parents-to-be ahead of a meeting was important. Given sufficient staff and guidance, the programme was considered a good basis for building a relationship with the family.