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.

Aims and objectives To investigate how parents experience counselling about food and feeding practices and the use of a communication tool about diet at the child health centre. Background Food‐related counselling is a key element in parents’ consultations with public health nurses at child health centres. Public health nurses possess limited strategies and tools for addressing nutritional issues, especially in the context of client diversity. Design An interpretive description approach, fulfilling the COREQ checklist criteria. Methods Individual interviews performed between January 2017–May 2017 among parents (n = 12) of children (mean age 28 months) who had been exposed to a communication tool about diet, in regular child health centre consultations with their child. These consultations were included in clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov.: Identifier: NCT02266953). Results Counselling using the communication tool about diet was primarily based on the public health nurse presenting images of healthy food choices. After infancy, consultations sometimes became more time‐pressured, inhibiting parents from asking questions related to the child's diet. The parents who had questions related to food allergy or breastfeeding of their child sometimes experienced limited support. Some parents felt overwhelmed with information about healthy food choices if their child's diet differed from the recommendations presented. Conclusions The parents’ existing expectations and needs had an impact on their satisfaction in relation to their perceptions of nutritional counselling. The use of the communication tool about diet to promote a two‐way dialogue instead of providing one‐way dietary information might be particularly useful in consultations for parents who do not follow customary recommendations. Relevance to clinical practice If the diet of the family differs from what is recommended, parents often experience limited support at the child health centre. Promoting a two‐way dialogue in consultations using a communication tool about diet could help parents in their concerns related to feeding their child.

Due to inconsistent recommendations and omitted focus on anticipatory counselling on child feeding, parents might perceive pressure and uncertainty related to the child's diet.

Becoming a parent for the first time is a major transition, and parental self‐efficacy (PSE) is considered an important predictor of parenting functioning. We aimed to describe and synthesize qualitative studies that explore first‐time parents' experiences related to PSE in the transition to parenthood in the first‐year postpartum. We conducted a scoping review in accordance with international guidelines. The main search strategy consisted of searches in six electronic databases. We selected studies based on predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and conducted a descriptive qualitative thematic analysis. We included 58 studies (presented in 61 reports) with 1341 participants from 17 countries. Most of the participants (89%) were mothers, and a third of the studies were task‐specific regarding breastfeeding. The thematic analysis of the findings concerning PSE revealed five main, interconnected themes: culture—factors in society and the healthcare services; parents—processes within the parents; tasks—different parental tasks; support—parents' perceived support from professionals, peers, friends, family, and partner; and child—the child's well‐being and feedback. This scoping review describes qualitative studies on first‐time parents' experiences related to PSE. The findings inform future studies of PSE and clinical practice by confirming the importance of PSE in the transition to parenthood, the complexity of different factors that may have an impact, and the centrality of breastfeeding in PSE. Based on these findings, we suggest that a full systematic review with quality assessment would be appropriate.

Having a proper strategy for implementation, and ensuring that necessary clinical structures and resources are available, is crucial. Including school nurses in developing and implementing such strategies is vital for success in implementing national guidelines.