Overcoming barriers to reach for a helping hand: adolescent boys’ experience of visiting the public health nurse for mental health problems

Abstract

Mental health problems among adolescents have become a public health issue in Norway. However, few adolescent boys seek help for their mental health problems. This study focus on adolescent boys’ experiences related to visiting the public health nurse for mental health problems. Twelve adolescent boys were interviewed and qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the data. The theme identified from the data was: overcoming barriers to reach for a helping hand. The theme consisted of four categories: the public health nurse must be accessible; breaking the norm is a prerequisite for the adolescent boys to talk about mental health problems; ensuring that confidentiality is respected; and the public health nurse is a trustworthy person who can open up for new perspectives. The adolescent boys experienced barriers to visiting the public health nurse. When they had crossed these barriers, the visit was experienced as positive.

Keywords

• adolescent
• boy
• content analysis
• mental health problems
• public health nurse
• school health service