School nurses' perceptions of using the physical environment of their office to support wellbeing.

Background: The physical environment has an impact on wellbeing. School nurses can use this to promote students' health. Aim: The aim of this study is to elucidate school nurses' perceptions of using the physical environment at their office, as a tool in nursing. Method: A qualitative interview study was conducted with five Swedish school nurses, using semi-structured questions. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Three categories (offering a health environment for wellbeing, being present in the environment for the children and using the environment for health education) and six subcategories emerged during analysis. Conclusions: School nurses made their office a place for wellbeing by using it for health information, as a sanctuary and as an environment that supports children's need for integrity. How the school nurses used their environment depended on their personality. Obstacles included people in the school who had little knowledge of what school nurses' work consists of and also the difficulty of appearing available to the children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]