Listening to children’s voices in qualitative health research

Abstract

The data for this paper has emerged from two separate qualitative research projects that investigated children’s constructions of health and nutrition. Extensive focus group interviews with children aged between 5 and 12 were conducted across a range of schools in South Australia. The data were transcribed verbatim and inductively analysed to identify common themes. The emergent data provides evidence that children’s voices play an important role in illuminating issues, which are central to a child’s personal constructions of identity, health and ‘good’ nutrition. In turn, this plays a crucial role in assisting in the development and implementation of health promoting strategies where nutrition and health is concerned in specific age cohorts from early childhood through to adolescence.