Objective: Young people are prioritized regarding the promotion and safeguarding of sexual and reproductivehealth and rights – SRHR. In Sweden, the school is seen as an important arena with members of the school healthcare or SHC team as vital actors in this work. This study explored SRHR-related work in SHC teams in Sweden.
Methods: Within an explorative qualitative design, structured interviews were conducted with 33 nurses, counsellors, SHC unit managers and headmasters. Reflexive thematic analysis was applied, and two main themesfound.
Results: SHC team members see SRHR as an urgent topic, but address it only ‘when necessary’, not systematically– and they experience a shortage of guidance and cooperation regarding SRHR-related work. Even in a countrywith agreement on the importance of SRHR for all and on providing holistic comprehensive sex education inschools, young people are left to chance – i.e., to the SRHR competence in the professionals they meet.
Conclusion: SHC team members in Sweden see SRHR as an urgent topic but do not address it systematically.Moreover, they experience a shortage of guidance for their work. To avoid any professional stress of conscienceand for equitable school health care regarding SRHR to be realized, research-informed policy needs to underlinesystematic, comparable and proactive practice.