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Young Carers and Unmet Support from School Health Nurses – A Population-Based Study in Finland

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Children and adolescents in families experiencing illness or other health challenges often assume caregiving responsibilities. School health care professionals are well-positioned to identify and support these young carers, who are at risk of poorer well-being. The primary aim of this study is to examine the association between a caring relationship and receiving support from a school health nurse (SHN) among 16- to 18-year-olds in the general population. The second aim is to explore whether a caring relation, together with sociodemographic factors, explains unmet support needs from SHN. The original data source for this cross-sectional study is the School Health Promotion (SHP) study conducted in Finland in 2019. The target group for our study consisted of 1st- and 2nd-year students from vocational institutions and general upper secondary schools. The data contains 62,273 students, of whom almost 14% reported having a caring relationship on some scale.

Source: The Journal of School Nursing

DOI: 10.1177/10598405261436408

Authors: Ella Eronen-Levonen, Riitta Suhonen, Hanne Kivimäki, Miko Pasanen, Agnes Leu, Katja Joronen