Barriers to collaboration between health care, social services and schools

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; line-height: 150%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Background: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">It is essential for professionals from different organizations to collaborate when handling matters concerning children, adolescents, and their families in order to enable society to provide holistic health care and social services. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: " lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; line-height: 150%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Objective: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">This paper reports perceptions of obstacles to collaboration among professionals in health care (county council), social services (municipality), and schools in an administrative district of the city of Stockholm, Sweden. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: " lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Methods: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Data were collected in focus group interviews with unit managers and employees. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: " lang="EN-US"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; line-height: 150%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Results and discussion: </span></strong><span style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 150%; font-family: " lang="EN-US">Our results show that the responsibility for collaboration fell largely on the professionals. Also, there was a <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">lack of clarity</em> regarding differences in mission and regulations, allocation of responsibilities, competence, explanatory models, and working approach. We conclude that a <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holding environment</em> and a <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">committed management</em> would support these professionals in their efforts to collaborate.</span></p

Impact of improving the attractiveness of town centres

The process of improving the attractiveness of town centres is by nature more complex than simply improving, for example, everyday commuting by public transport. Drawing on knowledge from a variety of fields this paper will propose a ranking scheme to indicate the economic and other effects of improving the attractiveness of town centres including the introduction of town centre management and pedestrianization. The ranking scheme is applied to six Swedish town centres. The aim is to provide a richer framework on which to base predictions of the effect on property values of the suggested improvements. The results may form a background for more elaborate policy decisions. Sweden implemented schemes, which included pedestrianization, for improving about 50-60 Swedish towns. The more extensive an improvement scheme the more substantial is its positive effect. The most important aspect has turned out to be pedestrianization and the subsequent improved accessibility.

Ledarskap, teamsamverkan och upplevelse av mening inom palliativ vård

Artikeln beskriver vad som karaktäriserade det goda arbetsklimatet vid en palliativ enhet och vilken betydelse ledarskapet hade. Slutsatserna bygger på analyser av formella dokument, resultat från en enkät och från gruppintervjuer med sjuksköterskor och chefer. Datamaterialet analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Det faktum att deltagarna upplevde att de lyckades nå visionen om en god palliativ vård, det vill säga måluppfyllelsen i sig, var den faktor man ansåg hade störst betydelse för den goda arbetsmiljön. Bidragande faktorer var kongruens i ledarskapet, en mogen och väl fungerande grupp, adekvata organisatoriska strukturer och resurser samt en upplevelse av delad meningsfullhet

Leadership challenges of strategic research centres in relation to degree of institutionalisation

The purpose of this study was to describe and analyse leadership challenges in the organisation of strategic research centres, focusing on the relationship between organisation and the level of institutionalisation. Four main themes of leadership challenges were identified: (1) the changing university context, including relationships with top management and faculties; (2) research strategy, considering decisions about diversity or a focused perspective; (3) management, dealing with prioritising administrative work; (4) affiliation, the sense of belonging to a strategic research centre, comprising issues of leadership, trust, attitude towards recruitment and succession. We concluded that leadership and effective administration are vital for research collaboration, not only within small research groups as been shown in other studies, but also within large groups in university-based research centres

Parents’ experiences of collaboration between welfare professionals regarding children and adolescents with anxiety or depression - an explorative study

Introduction: Well-functioning collaboration between professionals in the welfare sector has a strong influence on the contact with parents of children and adolescents with mental illness, and it is a precondition for the availability of support for these parents. This paper reports how such parents experience collaboration between professionals in mental health care, social services, and schools.Methods: Data were collected by in-depth interviews with seven parents of children and adolescents diagnosed with anxiety and depression. The families were selected from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) patient records kept by the Stockholm County Council (Sweden), and they all lived in a catchment area for CAMH outpatient services in Stockholm.Results and discussion: We conclude that when the encounter between parents and professionals is characterized by structure and trust, it is supportive and serves as a holding environment. Coordination and communication links are needed in the collaboration between the professionals, along with appropriately scheduled and well-performed network meetings to create structure in the parent-professional encounter. Indeed, establishment of trust in this interaction is promoted if individual professionals are available, provide the parents with adequate information, are skilled, and show empathy and commitment.

Parents' experiences of collaboration between welfare professionals regarding children with anxiety or depression - an explorative study

<!--StartFragment--><p class="Pa7" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Introduction: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">Well-functioning collaboration between professionals in the welfare sector has a strong influence on the contact with parents of children and adolescents with mental illness, and it is a precondition for the availability of support for these parents.<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></strong><span style="color: black;">This paper reports </span>how such parents experience collaboration between professionals in mental health care, social services, and schools.</span> <p class="Pa7" style="margin-bottom: 4.0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: 200%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-GB">Methods: </span></strong><span lang="EN-GB">Data were collected by in-depth interviews with seven parents</span><span lang="EN-GB"> of children and adolescents <span class="hps"><span style="color: #333333;">diagnosed with</span></span><span style="color: #333333;"> <span class="hps">anxiety</span> <span class="hps">and depression</span></span><span style="color: black;">.</span> The families were selected from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH) patient records kept by the Stockholm County Council (Sweden), and they a<span class="hps"><span style="color: #333333;">ll lived in a catchment area for CAMH outpatient services in Stockholm.</span></span></span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt;">Results and discussion: </span></strong><span style="line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt;">We conclude that when the encounter between parents and professionals is characterized by<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </strong><em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">structure' and<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> trust', it is supportive and serves as a <em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">holding environment'. Coordination and communication links are needed<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> 'in the collaboration between the professionals, along with appropriately scheduled and well-performed network meetings<em style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> 'to create structure<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </strong>in the parent-professional encounter. Indeed, establishment of trust<strong style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </strong>in this interaction is promoted if individual professionals are available, provide the parents with adequate information, are skilled, and show empathy and commitment. </span> <!--EndFragment--