Improving Interprofessional Collaboration in Norwegian Primary Schools

NCT ID: NCT03248245

Last Updated: 2020-09-07

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 4130 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2017-04-01
• Study Completion Date: 2020-06-30

Brief Summary

This study includes designing, implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of process-based measures for improving interprofessional collaboration in Norwegian primary schools (5-7th grades). Focusing on leadership and organizational development, the overarching aim is to improve the use of existing interprofessional competence within schools. The interventions include meetings at municipal-level (strategic), school-level (operative) and class-level (operative), with feedback procedures to ensure communication between and within all levels. Also school internal and school external collaborators are involved at all levels of intervention.

In order to avoid contradictory roles, an implementation team is responsible for developing and implementing the intervention, while the research team conduct an independent evaluation. The model will be evaluated by a cluster-randomized design to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. The hypothesis is that schools that utilize the process-based intervention (intervention group) will improve their interprofessional team work in a way that enhances the pupil's learning- environment and teachers professional competence, self-efficacy and efficient use of working hours compared to their counterparts in the control group. We anticipate main effects to be found at pupil level, mainly through improved early assessment, intervention and efficient follow-up. The project is a collaboration between four Norwegian municipalities and includes a total of 37 Schools, half of which will be randomized to experimental condition and half to control condition.

The project is financed by The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training with a duration of three years and three months. The project is led by Professor Ira Malmberg-Heimonen. The project is a collaboration between Faculty of Social Sciences and the Work Research Institute (AFI), at Oslo and Akerhus University College of Applied Sciences. Participants in the project are Ira Malmberg-Heimonen (project leader), Anne Grete Tøge, Therese Saltkjel, Knut Fossestøl, Elin Borg and Selma Therese Lyng. Participants in the implementation team are Øyvind Pålshaugen, Hanne Christoffersen and Christian Wittrock, also from Oslo and Akerhus University College of Applied Sciences, in addition to Torbjørn Lund from the Arctic University of Norway

Detailed Description

Comprehensive process-based intervention for improving interprofessional team collaboration in schools. A cluster-randomized study.

Start at 01.04.2017 Finnish at 30.06.2020. Funding: The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training Collaboration: All public schools at primary level in four Norwegian municipalities

Primary schools participating in the study:

From the municipality of Ålesund: Åse, Aspøy, Blindheim, Ellingsøy, Emblem, Flisnes, Hatlane, Hessa, Larsgården, Lerstad, Spjelkavik, Vik and Stokke, and Voldsdalen.

From the municipality of Harstad: Bergseng, Bjarkøy, Harstad, Kanebogen, Kila, Lundenes, Medkila skole, Seljestad and Sørvik From the municipality of Nedre Eiker: Mjøndalen, Krokstad, Solberg, Steinberg, Stenseth and Åsen.

From the municipality of Lillehammer: Vingar, Vingrom, Søre Ål, Røyslimoen, Kringsjå, Ekrom and Buvollen (will be merged), Hammartun and Jørstadmoen

Advisory Board for the project:

Senior researcher Mary Visher, Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC), USA Professor Nancy Cartwright, Durham University, UK, and University of California, San Diego, USA Analyst and content director Jarl Inge Wærnes, LearnLab, Oslo Norway

There are interprofessional resources in Norwegian schools and municipalities that are not fully utilized/exploited. Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences has been commissioned to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a process-based model for interprofessional team collaboration in Norwegian primary schools. In order for municipal school owners and leaders to better utilize the potential related to existing interprofessional resources in schools, municipalities will implement a process-based model with a focus on leadership and better coordination of existing interprofessional resources. While the work process will be the same for all schools enrolled to experimental group, the content of the intervention will vary based on local conditions, resources and needs. A manual describes how the work process should be carried out. The model is hereafter referred to as the LOG-model, a Norwegian acronym, referring to the terms leadership, organization and coordination

The evaluation will be conducted as a cluster-randomized trial, where 37 primary schools will be randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Schools randomized to experimental group will implement the LOG-model, while schools assign to the control group will work as previously with interprofessional collaboration. While schools in the experimental group will receive economic resources to compensate for implementing the model and participating in the research, schools randomized to control group will get, however, somewhat less financial compensation for taking part in the research. The implementation team offer supervision and support to schools randomized to the experimental group throughout the project period.

The main working method in the LOG-model is the interchange and feedback process between discursive practices, i.e. the discussion of interprofessional team collaborating measures and the execution/testing of these measures.

Staff from Oslo and Akershus College of Applied Sciences will have different roles in the project. Beside the implementation team with the role of facilitating implementation processes in schools randomized to experimental group, the process evaluation team will study implementation processes mainly based on qualitative data. The researchers in the effect-evaluation team will mainly work with quantitative data.

Prior to randomization a baseline questionnaire will be collected from the teachers and their interprofessional collaborators e.g. educational and psychological counseling services, public health nurses and child welfare social workers. Baseline information on pupils will be based on a survey data collected autumn 2017 and survey data and administrative data for follow-up + 12 and + 24 months. Long-term effects for pupils will be measured after the project has formally ended, up to 4 years after baseline, given that the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training authorize access and deliver administrative data for follow-up.

The project will assess whether schools randomized to experimental group that are implementing the LOG-model improve their interprofessional collaboration in a way that has positive effects on learning environment, learning outcomes and early intervention for pupils. At teacher level we expect the model to increase competence for interprofessional collaboration, teacher self-efficacy and more efficient use of teachers working time.

This knowledge will inform the debate on what the effects of interprofessional team collaboration can be in schools.

The project is funded by The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training and led by professor Ira Malmberg-Heimonen, Oslo and Akershus University College.

Participants in the project are Ira Malmberg-Heimonen (project leader), Knut Fossestøl, Øyvind Pålshagen, Elin Borg, Selma Therese Lyng, Anne Grete Tøge, Hanne Christensen, Thorbjørn Lund and Therese Saltkjel.

Conditions

Interprofessional Team Collaboration

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

LOG-model schools

Experimental schools implement the LOG-model

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

LOG-model

Intervention Type: OTHER

Besides the LOG-manual, school owners and leaders receive economic compensation and the intervention team will supervise the implementation. School-owners, school leaders and teachers will participate in dialogue-seminars at the municipal level and the school level respectively. The aim is to discuss and agree on the goal and content of the work and discuss the experiences from the implementation. The main arena for discussing and practical implementation will be in local collaborating teams or "resource teams" in each school. The resource teams at schools will consist of various interprofessional competences in addition to the school leader. The main method in the LOG-model is the interchange and feedback process between the discussion of measures and the execution of these measures.

Treatment as usual schools - TAU

Control schools performing interprofessional team collaboration as usual

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

TAU

Intervention Type: OTHER

Ordinary practices related to interprofessional team collaboration

Interventions

LOG-model

Besides the LOG-manual, school owners and leaders receive economic compensation and the intervention team will supervise the implementation. School-owners, school leaders and teachers will participate in dialogue-seminars at the municipal level and the school level respectively. The aim is to discuss and agree on the goal and content of the work and discuss the experiences from the implementation. The main arena for discussing and practical implementation will be in local collaborating teams or "resource teams" in each school. The resource teams at schools will consist of various interprofessional competences in addition to the school leader. The main method in the LOG-model is the interchange and feedback process between the discussion of measures and the execution of these measures.

Intervention Type: OTHER

TAU

Ordinary practices related to interprofessional team collaboration

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Pupils in grades 5 - 7 in 4 municipalities and 37 primary schools
• Teachers in grades 5-7 in 4 municipalities and 37 primary schools
• Interprofessional collaborators at municipal level

Exclusion Criteria

• NA

• Minimum Eligible Age: 10 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 14 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Oslo Metropolitan University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Ira Malmberg-Heimonen

Professor, Soc Sci dr.

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Aspøy skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Blindheim primary school

Ålesund, , Norway

Ellingsøy primary and secondary school

Ålesund, , Norway

Emblem skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Flisnes skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Hatlane skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Hessa skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Larsgården skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Lerstad skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Spjelkavik primary school

Ålesund, , Norway

Stokke og Vik skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Voldsdalen skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Åse Skole

Ålesund, , Norway

Bergseng skole

Harstad, , Norway

Harstad skole

Harstad, , Norway

Seljestad primary school

Harstad, , Norway

Kanebogen skole

Harstad, , Norway

Medkila skole

Harstad, , Norway

Kila skole

Harstad, , Norway

Sørvik skole

Harstad, , Norway

Lundenes skole

Harstad, , Norway

Bjarkøy skole

Harstad, , Norway

Søre Ål skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Vingrom skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Vingar skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Hammartun skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Røyslimoen skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Kringsjå skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Ekrom skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Buvollen skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Jørstadmoen Skole

Lillehammer, , Norway

Mjøndalen skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Åsen skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Steinberg Skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Krokstad skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Stenseth Skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Solberg skole

Nedre Eiker, , Norway

Countries

Norway

Other Identifiers

54470 (NSD)

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id