title: Public health nurses' approaches to early childhood physical activity in Finland.
abstract: This study was conducted using five focus groups with 24 public health nurses from regional child health clinics in order to explore health professionals' perceptions concerning physical activity. Participants were professionally experienced (mean 13.9 years), female (mean 46.2 years) nurses with some training in health-enhancing physical activity. Frame analysis of verbatim transcripts resulted in four frames: the environmental frame, the family frame, the natural frame and the wellbeing and health frame. The importance of physical and social environment, especially the role of parents, was highlighted as determinants of physical activity. Furthermore, the natural characteristics of physical activity in early childhood and the benefits of physical activity for wellbeing and health were focused on within these frames. According to the findings, the sample of Finnish nurses approached physical activity multidimensionally. Further research is warranted to ascertain how these approaches come true in health care settings in Finland as well as elsewhere.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Social Services and Health Care, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences, Pori, Finland. tarja.javanainen-levonen@samk.fi
authors.forename: Tarja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Javanainen-Levonen
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Poskiparta
authors.forename: Pauli
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rintala
authors.forename: Pekka
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Satomaa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D015444:Exercise; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D016294:Models, Nursing; D024802:Nurse's Role / Q000523:psychology; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D010687:Philosophy, Nursing; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires