School health-care team members’ reflections of their promotion of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR): Important but neglected

Objective

Young people are prioritized regarding the promotion and safeguarding of sexual and reproductive health and rights – SRHR. In Sweden, the school is seen as an important arena with members of the school health-care 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 themes found.

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 country with agreement on the importance of SRHR for all and on providing holistic comprehensive sex education in schools, 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 conscience and for equitable school health care regarding SRHR to be realized, research-informed policy needs to underline systematic, comparable and proactive practice.