Objectives: One aspect of the Swedish child healthcare is to support parents in their parenting role. The child healthcare nurses are also obligated to report situations that could cause suspicion of violence, and they are encouraged to collaborate with the social services when needed. In the extended home-visit programme called Grow Safely—child healthcare nurses and parental supporters from social service collaborate. There is a need to evaluate how trust could be built between families and the social services through such a collaboration. Thus, the aim of this study was to illuminate—how trust in the social services could be achieved through an extended home-visit programme within the child healthcare in collaboration with parental supporters.

Results: This is a qualitative study and 13 health and social professionals were interviewed. The results showed that it was important to initiate preventive support from the social services at an early stage. It seemed that the child healthcare nurses could build on the high level of trust that they enjoy, as a profession, and that, by introducing the parental supporters from the social services, they enabled the families to start trusting them too.

Background: High-quality diabetes care should offer personalized treatment and support self-management to reduce complications and maintain quality of life for affected persons. In Malmö, Sweden’s third-largest city, primary care treated twice as many individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in 2018 compared to 2011. As the prevalence of T2D increases, healthcare services face increasing challenges. Objective: To explore experiences of contacts with diabetes care professionals among people living with T2D who are accessing diabetes care in the city of Malmö. Method: A qualitative inductive design was employed, involving interviews with 21 persons with T2D receiving diabetes care at four primary healthcare centers in Malmö. A semi-structured interview guide was used. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Result: The theme ‘Seeking room for one’s agency’ emerged from two categories that illustrate experiences with diabetes care in relation to meeting healthcare needs: ‘Importance of connecting with diabetes care professionals’ and ‘Concerns in navigating diabetes care.’ Eight subcategories describe what contact with diabetes care meant for the participants. Conclusion: The findings highlight opportunities for improving diabetes care to better meet patients’ needs. Contacts with diabetes care professionals were perceived as supportive when there was a clear intention to adapt to individual needs and when expectations and communication were transparent. Continuity with general practitioners and educational aspects were identified as unmet healthcare needs. Based on the findings of this study, efforts to a systematic and broad implementation of group-based T2D-education in Malmö are recommended.

INTRODUCTION: This study is a part of a series of studies on a health and social care home-visit program in Sweden called Grow Safely. The program aimed to reduce health disparities in underprivileged areas. The current study evaluated home visits from Child Health Care and dental services that took place when the children were 8 months old and illuminated their parents' experiences of the home visits from both pediatric nurses and dental nurses.

METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 18 first-time families after they received the home visits. The interviews were analyzed using Burnard's approach to content analysis. Ethical approval from the Regional Ethical Committee in Lund, Sweden, was obtained before the study was conducted.

RESULTS: The results included three categories. The parents appreciated the home visits since both they and their baby felt comfortable and secure during the visits. They found the information about their child's development and the advice on good oral health valuable. They also valued the tailored information on how to ensure that their home was safe and secure for the child.

CONCLUSION: The first-time parents appreciated the extended home visits when the baby was 8 months old. Further studies are needed in order to evaluate the effect of these visits on oral health.

The goal of Swedish public health policy is to create conditions that enable good and equitable health and eliminate avoidable health inequities. Although previous research emphasizes the importance of considering inequities in mental health promotion and policy, and although researchers and policy makers emphasize the importance of a system-approach to mental health, there seems to be an ambiguity in how the concept of equity is understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to critically examine equity and inequity discourses in Swedish regional action plans for mental health. A critical discourse analysis based on Foucault’s discourse theory was used to reveal discursive practices of inequity. Twenty-two regional action plans for mental health were analyzed. The analysis identified three discourse strands: the vague language of equity, the inequitable people, and education as a pathway to equity, all of which are entangled through the individualization of equity. Overall, the equity discourse was interpreted as representing a naturalistic and liberal view on equity. This could be understood as contributing to upholding the system of inequities rather than dismantling it. There is a need for clarification about the considered causes of mental health inequities as well as possible solutions.

INTRODUCTION Exclusive breastfeeding (EB) is globally recommended due to health benefits for women and their infants. Home-based postnatal midwifery care (HBPMC) is a model of care where midwives give in-home care during the first postnatal week. The study objectives were to investigate breastfeeding outcomes at two months after birth, in women and newborns receiving HBPMC, and to identify risk factors and describe women's reported reasons associated with EB cessation. METHODS A prospective cohort study including 219 women in Sweden, conducted between November 2023 and March 2024. Background and breastfeeding variables were collected from medical records. Telephone interviews two months after birth contained open-ended questions about breastfeeding duration and reasons for EB cessation. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS In total, 211 women (96%) completed the follow-up. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding was 86% at discharge from HBPMC, and 84% at two months after birth. Factors associated with EB cessation included early formula supplementation (AOR=5.89; 95% CI: 2.31–15.02), a pre-pregnancy body mass index ≥ 30 kg/m² (AOR=3.55; 95% CI: 1.27–9.94), and being born in another country (AOR=2.39; 95% CI: 1.01–5.67). The most frequently reported reasons for EB cessation were perceived breastfeeding barriers and insufficient milk supply. CONCLUSIONS A high continuation of exclusive breastfeeding was reported at two months after receiving HBPMC, suggesting that in-home breastfeeding support during the first week after birth may play an important role. Future interventions with in-home breastfeeding support targeting women with identified risk factors may further improve breastfeeding duration.

Mental health is a challenge for many children globally. Universal programs for socialand emotional learning (SEL) have convincing evidence for improving mental well-beingand academic achievement. In a recent qualitative evidence synthesis, teachers showedappreciation of these programs. This study explores the children’s experiences througha qualitative synthesis consisting of five studies. Riks for bias and confidence in thefindings were assessed. The results showed that children experienced that SEL programsimproved their self-esteem and self-confidence, fostered their close relationships andenhanced their socialisation and conflict management skills, which in turn improvedthe school environment. Although most participants had positive experiences of theSEL-programs, some of the participants perceived the programs as rigid, boring andrepetitive. It is thus important to involve the students, making them co-creators whenimplementing a SEL-program, to minimize risks of negative experiences. In all, there arescientific evidence from both quantitative and qualitative research supporting thedissemination of universal school-based SEL interventions.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is of great aid to couples who are struggling to conceive. The IVF clinics, where couples undergo fertility treatments, require a carefully controlled environment to ensure the effectiveness of the procedures. In recent years, IVF has seen significant progress, thanks to new technologies and methods that improve success rates and expand options for infertile couples. One notable advancement involves combining pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) with time-lapse imaging technology, which allows continuous monitoring of embryo development with minimal disturbance. This innovation improves the selection of healthy embryos for transfer, increasing success rates and reducing the risk of multiple pregnancies. However, maintaining a stable environment remains a key challenge. Fluctuations in temperature, humidity, air quality, and particulate matter can affect IVF success rates by disrupting the embryo’s delicate environment and potentially causing implantation failure. We discuss in this position paper our approach to alleviate such environmental problems in our project EIVF-AI funded by the Swedish funding agency Vinnova.

The digitalization of health care is currently subject to extensive hype (both negative and positive), which obscures its potential to benefit humanity. Science and Technology Studies have described the computational translation of health information as “datafication,” often from a critical stance in which such technologies limit agency of patients and clinicians. Conversely, health care has long since been structured along highly unequal lines with high levels of inequity, in which parts of the population experience reduced healthcare access. In addition, there are high levels of health illiteracy, where some groups are not only unaware of their own health needs or how to access health care, but the healthcare system is itself lacking key information on the needs of those individuals. In that context, digital systems able to handle and communicate large datasets are often heralded as a solution for better connecting patients and the healthcare system within a holistic model. To help bring much-needed nuance to our understanding of digital health care, the article looks to the example of digital dental health—both implemented and potential—within Skåne in Southern Sweden, with a mix of an advanced welfare model healthcare system combined with a diverse population consisting of many foreign-born nationals. By interviewing dental professionals working in Skåne, we investigate the intersection between the theoretical arguments and the practical constraints and opportunities for digital health.

Background: Children with migration background, living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, are exposed to numerous risk that can negatively affect their well-being. Understanding which key factors build and enable well-being of children with these experiences are therefore essential to support and strengthen their positive development and possibilities to feel well. Studies that include children’s own perspectives and voices in initiatives that concerns them is however scarce, and there is an increased need for participation of children with diverse experiences and life situations in research and knowledge production. Therefore, the aim of this study was to, through a participatory process, explore and enhance the understanding of key factors in the social context that contribute to child well-being among children with a migration background.

Methods: Thirty-one children, aged 9–12, from three disadvantaged areas in Malmö, Sweden, participated together with researchers in a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) team, exploring factors related to their well-being in their social context. Multi-stage focus groups were held over a year (2023–2024), with different sessions facilitating dialog on the research topic. In total, 49 sessions took place, each on average duration of 1.5 h. The data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.

Results: Four main themes, representing key factors related to child well-being, were identified: Enriching Leisure Time, Resourceful Places, Belonging to a Community and Welfare System and Rights. The themes covered structural aspects, such as school, healthcare and human rights, but also more personal dimensions, like close relations and the near environment, related to Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development.

Conclusion: The dialogs with the children provided a deeper understanding and a holistic view of the perceptions of children with migration backgrounds residing in socio-economically disadvantaged areas regarding essential factors for their well-being. Future research should focus on developing strategies that ensure children’s access to the factors they have identified as fundamental to their well-being. Our study has further shown that it is pivotal to ensure children’s inclusion and participation in health promotion initiatives. These initiatives need to be contextually relevant and work toward building community capacity, to promote child well-being.

Background: Stable housing is important for overall health and well-being among young people, and poor-quality housing can trigger multiple diseases, including infections, injuries, chronic diseases, and psychological problems. However, many young people in Sweden struggle with an unstable housing situation. It is therefore important to illuminate how health, social, and civic society professionals and volunteers see the overall health situation for young people (16–27 years) in unstable housing situations.

Method: Sixteen health, social, and civic society professionals and volunteers, from both municipal and governmental organizations and civic society, were interviewed during 2024 and were reached through convenience and purposive sampling. The data was analyzed with content analysis.

Results: The results showed that the professionals and volunteers considered that there is a lack of basic necessities, such as food and clothes and often also a place to sleep, among young people in unstable housing situations. They also recounted that the bodies of those young people are weakened as a result of the unstable situation, with its stress and lack of proper care. There are, however, challenges with regard to accessing healthcare and the young people in question are often hesitant to seek care, and inclined to avoid it. Furthermore, the participants mentioned psychosocial challenges, due to loneliness and lack of close contacts with family and friends, and said that people struggling with homelessness tend to suffer from mental illness.

Conclusion: Young people in unstable housing situations need support to stabilize them for the future, and in order to work toward a more stable housing situation for these people in the county of Scania, a holistic approach is necessary. This is crucial in view of their overall health, as well as their well-being and life satisfaction.