# Early language screening at 30 months of age in Swedish child health services—a qualitative study of nurses' perspectives

## TL;DR

This study explores how nurses in Sweden perceive and use a language screening tool for 30-month-old children, highlighting factors that influence their confidence and effectiveness.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how nurses' experience and external factors affect the use and interpretation of early language screening in child health services.

## Key findings

- Nurses' confidence in using the screening method is influenced by their work experience.
- External factors like language barriers and parental expectations affect screening administration and result interpretation.
- Immigrant children's screening presents particular challenges for nurses.

## Abstract

To understand how nurses within the child-health services perceive the early language screening administered at 30 months of age.

A qualitative study was conducted involving individual interviews with 15 nurses working in the child-health services of two districts in western Sweden. The interview data were analysed through content analysis.

The qualitative analysis yielded two main categories: (1) Experience and flexibility facilitate use of the screening method and (2) External factors influence administration as well as the assessment and analysis of screening results. Regarding the first main category, the nurses considered that the screening method often worked well, but their confidence in using it was influenced by the length of their working experience. The second main category highlights external factors influencing the nurses' administration of screenings and their analysis and assessment of screening results, such as the child's abilities and overall development, language barriers, parental expectations and waiting times in healthcare. The two main categories can be broken down into seven sub-categories.

Our findings indicate that nurses' experiences with interpreting screening results vary depending on their professional background and on the children's abilities, with particular challenges arising in the case of immigrant children.