title: Counseling Immigrant Parents about Food and Feeding Practices: Public Health Nurses' Experiences.
abstract: To describe the experiences of public health nurses (PHNs) in counseling immigrant parents on food and feeding practices at child health centers (CHCs).
  
  
  
  In this study employing a qualitative description (QD) approach, the participants (n = 26) were PHNs from five CHCs in the greater Oslo region of Norway.
  
  
  
  Data were collected through five focus group interviews and examined using qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  
  Counseling on food and feeding practices was an important topic in most consultations with immigrant parents. The PHNs were concerned that the child should eat ordinary, healthy food regularly. Immigrant families were often experienced as a "generic group" and the PHNs disclosed that they rarely adjusted their counseling strategy based on enquiries about families' food culture or parents' level of education or knowledge. Time constraints and language and cultural barriers were common challenges. The PHNs suggested that culturally adapted information materials and visual aids from health authorities could improve communication.
  
  
  
  Counseling immigrant parents on food and feeding at CHCs is often challenging for PHNs. The study findings could be used in the development of guidelines to assist PHNs in delivering culturally competent counseling about food and feeding practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Holmberg Fagerlund
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kjell Sverre
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Pettersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Terragni
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway.|Department of Nursing, Diakonova University College, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kari
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Glavin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003376:Counseling; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D064689:Nurses, Public Health / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research
keywords: child health services; counseling; focus groups; food; immigrant; nutrition; public health nursing