Research Paper III

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Research Paper III

Introduction

Parent-professional collaboration is a cooperative relationship between a parent of a child with an underlying condition and the professional tasked with helping that child (Dunn, 2021). Usually, effective collaborations are considered vital for providing optimal care (Smith, 2015). According to Smith and Kendal (2018), this is achieved by valuing and incorporating the experiences and expertise of parents and caregivers into care and care decisions. This research paper presents an intervention that can be used to support collaboration approaches for parents and professionals. It begins by identifying the method and further describes the specific steps that are carried out as part of the identified method. Lastly, examples and descriptions that would provide a framework to support others are provided.

Intervention to Support Collaboration Approaches For Parents and Professionals

Collaboration approaches for parents and professionals can be supported by using the family-professional model. A family-professional collaboration is a set of mutually beneficial exchanges in which knowledge and skills are exchanged, misunderstandings are cleared up, and shared decisions are made (An et al., 2016). Family-professional collaboration model can support the collaboration approaches for parents and professionals since it allows families and experts to share information and knowledge and participate in discussions to define goals and intervention plans that address family needs and priorities (An et al., 2019). Through engaging in open discussions, family-profession collaboration can allow parents and practitioners to build healthy relationships and actively participate in achieving mutually agreed-upon goals. Also, the collaborative efforts can establish and strengthen the capacity of parents and professionals to provide and mediate the provision of support, resources, and service for children who require professional help.

Steps Carried Out as Part of the Intervention

The family-professional model involves four steps. The first step entails determining jointly agreed-upon intervention goals. Usually, this step is directed by a discussion of family preferences and concerns as well as the interests and daily routine of the child (An et al., 2016). This step also involves examining the current performance of the child as well as the parent’s satisfaction. When parents and professionals engage in setting-up mutually agreed-upon goals, this helps in supporting the collaboration approaches for parents and professionals. As parents and the therapist engage in discussions to set up mutually agreed-upon goals, this helps to foster collaboration between two parties.

The second step of the family-professional model involves the family and the professional developing an intervention plan to be executed as part of the family’s everyday routine. During this stage, the healthcare professional foresees the shared planning by the use of three strategies, including scaling questions, visualizing a preferred future, and family daily routine and activity matrix. Visualizing a preferred future and scaling questions techniques are aimed at helping the families look into their concerns and needs, figure out meaningful and appropriate goals, and establish means to accomplish the set goals based on the strength of the family. On the other hand, the family routine and activity matrix technique offers a framework for identifying how to integrate interventions into family routines. This may include identifying the various activities to put into practice, identifying the best time to implement activities, and identifying professionals’ and parents’ roles (An et al., 2016).

The third step of the family-professional model involves the family and the professional working collaboratively to implement and progress an individualized intervention plan. During this stage, parents are required to provide their reflections on the implemented intervention. The last step involves the evaluation of the implemented plan. During this stage, the family and the professional do discuss the challenges and success of the plan and evaluate whether or not the set goals were achieved. Based on the evaluation results, the healthcare professional and the family define new goals and objectives or come up with a discharge plan if the professional’s services are no longer required (An et al., 2016). Since the healthcare professional and parents work together through the four steps, this helps in supporting the collaboration approaches for the two parties. The family-professional model is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure SEQ Figure * ARABIC 1:A Family-Professional Collaboration Model (An et al., 2016, p.1845).

Examples and Descriptions that Would Provide a Framework to Support Others

Rapport building technique can provide a framework for supporting others (Smith, 2015). According to Smith (2015), even though relationship-focused relations are the primary goal for the health professionals, effective communication and rapport building are important techniques for improving parents’ perceptions that their needs are met. A rapport is a relationship characterized by conformity, harmony, or affinity (Khatoon, 2016). Building a rapport entails entering into someone’s world, making them feel understood, and creating a strong common bond with them. Building a rapport would provide a framework for supporting others since it improves interpersonal relationships and establishes mutual trust between individuals. Also, building a rapport helps to enhance communication which makes it easy to support others. Without effective communication, support cannot be accorded to other people.

Conclusion

Overall, this research paper sought to explore an intervention that can be utilized to support collaboration approaches for parents and professionals. The identified intervention was the use of a family-professional model. A family-professional collaboration is a set of mutually beneficial exchanges between a family and a medical professional in which knowledge and skills are exchanged, misunderstandings are cleared up, and shared decisions are made. The model involves four steps, with the first step involving setting mutually agreed-upon goals. The second step entails shared planning, while the third step involves shared implementation. The last step involves a shared evaluation of the implemented plan. Building rapport can help in providing a framework to support others.

References

An, M., Palisano, R. J., Dunst, C. J., Chiarello, L. A., Yi, C. H., & Gracely, E. J. (2016). Strategies to promote family–professional collaboration: two case reports. Disability and Rehabilitation, 38(18), 1844-1858. http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/09638288.2015.1107763An, M., Palisano, R. J., Yi, C. H., Chiarello, L. A., Dunst, C. J., & Gracely, E. J. (2019). Effects of a collaborative intervention process on parent empowerment and child performance: A randomized controlled trial. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 39(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01942638.2018.1496965Dunn, D. (2021). Parent-professional partnership. Encyclopedia of autism spectrum disorders, 3328-3329.

Khatoon, S. (2016). Importance of establishing rapport. Research Journal of English Language and Literature (RJELAL), 4(4),263-265.

Smith, J. (2015). Parent-professional collaboration when a child presents with potential shunt malfunction. Nursing Children and Young People, 27(1), 22-27. https://doi.org/10.7748/ncyp.27.1.22.e519Smith, J., & Kendal, S. (2018). Parents’ and health professionals’ views of collaboration in the management of childhood long-term conditions. Journal of pediatric nursing, 43, 36-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2018.08.011