How do children experience participating in a coeliac disease screening? A qualitative study based on children's written narratives.
OBJECTIVE
To explore how 12-year-old Swedish children experienced being involved in a coeliac disease (CD) screening.


METHODS
A qualitative approach was used to analyse short narratives written by children who had taken part in a school-based CD screening. Narratives were written after blood sampling, but prior to learning of the test results. Through an oscillation between the texts, codes, subcategories and four categories, a theme was generated describing the children's experience.


RESULTS
The theme ''A Journey towards Confidence'' captures the overall experience of the screening. It illustrates that, although some children faced fear or anxiety, overall they had or were provided tools allowing them to cope well and experience a journey towards confidence. The categories describe conditions that contributed to the experience. The first, being involved, reflects the importance of involvement in receiving information and deciding to participate. Being a ''good citizen'' refers to feeling a duty to help and a trust to be treated fairly. Being able to cope with the screening was influenced by the children's ability to manage sensations and support received. The last category, being able to balance risk, illustrates that the children were able to balance the risks of screening when they had a realistic understanding of the disease and their vulnerability and had tamed their anxiety.


CONCLUSIONS
This study increases the understanding of how 12-year-old Swedish children experienced participating in a CD screening and describes conditions important for a positive experience. We show that, although some children faced anxiety, they had, or were provided with, tools allowing them to cope well and gain confidence.
Nordyke
Katrina
K
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Epidemiology and Global Health, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. katrina.nordyke@epiph.umu.se
Myléus
Anna
A
Ivarsson
Anneli
A
Carlsson
Annelie
A
Danielsson
Lars
L
Högberg
Lotta
L
Karlsson
Eva
E
Emmelin
Maria
M
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001007:Anxiety; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D003256:Community Participation / Q000523:psychology; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000523:psychology*; D033262:Narration; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012307:Risk Factors