Advancing Social Work Practice in the Health Field: A Collaborative Research Partnership

Abstract

This article describes and analyzes the development of a collaborative research model by one university faculty of social work and 10 health care settings. Established working relationships for educating students were the foundation of a research partnership formed to study questions of mutual interest. This article discusses the developmental stage of the research consortium, including needs assessment, workshop, identification of a common theme and research topic, preliminary funding, and literature review. This stage resulted in the decision to develop and test an instrument to screen for high social risk that would be capable of identifying the need for social work involvement with families to provide effective and efficient management of patients. The Delphi methodology was chosen in the first phase of the research design, and reasons for the choice of this methodology, the results from the two Delphi rounds, and a preliminary screening instrument are presented. Finally, issues in collaboration, such as institutional factors, dynamics of the working group, and leadership roles, are analyzed to identify facilitating features and problematic issues in such partnerships.

Le partenariat de recherche. Éléments de définition et ancrage dans quelques études de cas

“…En effet, certains auteurs, Bogo et al (1992), Epstein et Kohn (1992) et Galinski et al (1993) notamment, utilisent le mot « partenariat » pour parler en réalité de collaboration entre chercheurs et praticiens ; « collaboration » est parfois synonyme de « partenariat » pour tel auteur et les termes sont alors interchangés dans le texte. Parfois même, une recherche-action est considérée comme du partenariat.…”

The SESS multisite collaborative research initiative: establishing common ground

“…1999). Bogo et al . (1992) cite open discussion of differing opinions as a mechanism for building trust among partners, and Allen et al .…”

Bridging the gap between clinical practice and research: An integrated practice‐oriented model

“…In order to bridge the gap between practice and research more successfully, it is desirable to foster direct collaboration between practitioners and researchers in clinical research endeavours. Numerous models of collaboration have been recommended, including the collaboration between social work faculties and direct practice units and the institutional facilitation of practitioners' involvement in research (Adler et al, 1993;Bogo et al, 1992;Hall, Jensen, Fortney, Sutter, Locher, & Cayner, 1996;Kanfer, 1990;Sidell et al, 1996). Whereas the exact format of collaboration can vary from setting to setting, depending on the research agenda and the expertise required, a number of conditions are likely to be beneficial for the integration of clinical research and practice.…”