Public defence: Gunhild Hustad

Gunhild Hustad will defend her PhD degree in Person, Health and Society. This thesis is about school nurses’ work in school health services.

23 Oct

Practical information

  • Date: 23 October 2026
  • Time: 10.00 - 15.00
  • Location: Porsgrunn, Auditorium A-271 and Zoom
  • Download calendar file


    • Link to digital participation (Zoom)
    Meeting ID: 637 0537 6173
    Password: 534700
     

    Programme

    10.00: Trial lecture: TBA

    12.00: Defence: School Nurses’ Work in School Health Services
     

    Assessment committee

    • First opponent: Senior Lecturer, PhD Kristina Carlén, School of Health Sciences, University of Skövde, Sweeden
    • Second opponent: Professor emerita Kari Glavin, VID Vitenskapelige Høgskole
    • Administrator: Associate Professor Enid Myhre, University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Chair of Defence: Professor Rigmor Baraas, University of South-Eastern Norway

    Supervisors

    • Principal supervisor: Professor Elisabeth Holm Hansen, University of South-Eastern Norway
    • Co-supervisors: Researcher Marit Müller De Bortoli, University of South-Eastern Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Any questions?

Gunhild Hustad i hvit mønstret bluse som står innendørs nær en døråpning.

Gunhild Hustad is defending her thesis for the degree philosophiae doctor (PhD) at the University of South-Eastern Norway.. 

She has pursued the PhD program in Person, Health and Society at the Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Department of Nursing and Health Sciences.

You are invited to follow the trial lecture and the public defence.

Summary

This dissertation provides new knowledge about how school health services work in practice. One of the main findings was that a large proportion of working time was spent on activities that did not involve direct contact with pupils, and many pupils had to wait for consultations. The results also indicate a need for clearer guidelines, better working conditions, and adequate resources to enable school health services to fulfil their health-promoting and preventive mandate. At the same time, most school nurses reported a high level of professional confidence and a sense that their work was meaningful.

School health services are statutory services intended to be easily accessible to all pupils and to promote health, prevent illness, and reduce social health inequalities. Despite their central role, there has been limited knowledge about how school nurses allocate their working time and experience their daily work within school health services.

This dissertation, which consists of three quantitative studies, examined the work of school nurses in school health services, with a particular focus on daily activities, work situation, and consultations with pupils. The study included 270 school nurses working in primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary schools across 71 Norwegian municipalities.

A total of 999 working days were registered and analysed. The results showed that administrative tasks, meetings, and individual follow-up of pupils accounted for a large proportion of daily work. When activities that did not involve direct contact with pupils were combined, they accounted for 64% of total working time. Many school nurses also reported challenges related to unclear guidelines, time pressure, and feelings of isolation.

The findings could help strengthen the organisation of school health services and better support school nurses in fulfilling their health-promoting and preventive mandate.