Academic Journal
Discourses on children and health in National Public Health Policy documents: examples from Sweden and Norway.
| Title: | Discourses on children and health in National Public Health Policy documents: examples from Sweden and Norway. |
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| Authors: | Lögdberg U; Karolinska Institutet, Department of Learning, Informatics, Management and Ethics (LIME), National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (NASP), 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden., Hammerin Z; Department of Education and Art, Mälardalen University, Universitetsplatsen 1, 721 23 Västerås, Sweden., Hedin G; Faculty of Health and Science, Kristianstad University, Elmetorpsvägen 8, 291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden., Oldeide O; Department of Health Promotion and Development (HEMIL), University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7807, NO-5020 Bergen, Norway., Tjelta T; Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kjølnes Ring 56, 3918 Porsgrunn, Norway., Dahl BM; Department of Health Sciences, NTNU-Norwegian University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1517, NO-6025 Ålesund, Norway., Clancy A; Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Health and Care Sciences, UiT, the Arctic University of Norway, Postboks 1063, 9480 Harstad, Norway. |
| Source: | Health promotion international [Health Promot Int] 2026 May 05; Vol. 41 (3). |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Oxford University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9008939 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1460-2245 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 09574824 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Health Promot Int Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: Eynsham, Oxford, U.K. : Oxford University Press, c1990- |
| MeSH Terms: | Health Policy* , Health Promotion* , Child Health*, Humans ; Norway ; Sweden ; Child ; Public Health ; Policy Making ; Document Analysis |
| Abstract: | Promoting the health of children remains a global and national priority, as reflected in the proliferation of public health policies, strategies, and guidelines over the past decade. While these documents aim to improve health outcomes, they also play a critical role in shaping how children and young people are constructed as health subjects. This study critically examines recent national public health policy documents from Sweden and Norway through a health promotion lens, focusing on the discursive positioning of children. Drawing on theoretical insights from critical childhood studies and public health policy research to frame our discourse analysis, we identify dominant narratives that frame children primarily as passive, dependent, and vulnerable. These adult-centric discourses, rooted in risk and knowledge paradigms, offer limited space for agency, participation, or rights-based approaches. Despite strong rhetorical commitments to equality and child health, the policies risk reinforcing hierarchical power relations and deficit-based views of childhood. We argue that aligning public health policy with health promotion principles requires reframing children not merely as future investments, but as present rights-holders and active contributors to their own health. Embedding participatory mechanisms and expanding comparative research across welfare contexts may foster more inclusive and empowering policy development. This study contributes to ongoing debates on child agency, policy framing, and the role of discourse in shaping health promotion practice. (© The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press.) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: agency; children; critical discourse analysis; health promotion; policy; young people |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260609 Date Completed: 20260611 Latest Revision: 20260726 |
| Update Code: | 20260726 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC13248202 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/heapro/daag073 |
| PMID: | 42262065 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1460-2245 |
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| DOI: | 10.1093/heapro/daag073 |