TY - JOUR
T1 - The invisible and the non-routine
T2 - a meta-ethnography of intersectoral work in schools from the perspective of speech and language therapists and occupational therapists
AU - Gallagher, Aoife L.
AU - Eames, Caitriona
AU - Roddy, Rosalie
AU - Cunningham, Roisin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Effective intersectoral collaboration across health and education has been a policy priority for decades as a means of meeting the needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders in school yet remains rare in practice. A meta-ethnography was undertaken to explore the experiences of occupational therapists (OTs) and speech and language therapists (SLTs) with the aim of contributing new insights into the nature of their collaborative work in schools, and how it may best be facilitated. Electronic and manual searches were conducted. Papers were double-screened and critically appraised. A line of argument analysis was undertaken. Fourteen papers were analyzed, reporting the experiences of 369 practitioners from schools across six countries. Five concepts were identified: (a) negotiating liminal professional spaces; (b) gaining entry; (c) collaborative endeavor; (d) collaborative inertia; and (e) collaborative conviction. We describe the complex, effortful, and relational nature of intersectoral collaboration. We propose a conceptualization of SLT and OT collaborative practice in schools as articulation work, with elements of boundary work, much of which is invisible and non-routine. We argue the need for collaborative leadership to promote knowledge and awareness of the role of SLTs and OTs in school, and to support the contextual integration of their relational work in this setting.
AB - Effective intersectoral collaboration across health and education has been a policy priority for decades as a means of meeting the needs of children with neurodevelopmental disorders in school yet remains rare in practice. A meta-ethnography was undertaken to explore the experiences of occupational therapists (OTs) and speech and language therapists (SLTs) with the aim of contributing new insights into the nature of their collaborative work in schools, and how it may best be facilitated. Electronic and manual searches were conducted. Papers were double-screened and critically appraised. A line of argument analysis was undertaken. Fourteen papers were analyzed, reporting the experiences of 369 practitioners from schools across six countries. Five concepts were identified: (a) negotiating liminal professional spaces; (b) gaining entry; (c) collaborative endeavor; (d) collaborative inertia; and (e) collaborative conviction. We describe the complex, effortful, and relational nature of intersectoral collaboration. We propose a conceptualization of SLT and OT collaborative practice in schools as articulation work, with elements of boundary work, much of which is invisible and non-routine. We argue the need for collaborative leadership to promote knowledge and awareness of the role of SLTs and OTs in school, and to support the contextual integration of their relational work in this setting.
KW - Health services
KW - intersectoral collaboration
KW - neurodevelopmental disorders
KW - occupational therapist
KW - qualitative research
KW - school
KW - speech therapist
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139150677&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/13561820.2022.2108774
DO - 10.1080/13561820.2022.2108774
M3 - Review article
C2 - 36153742
AN - SCOPUS:85139150677
SN - 1356-1820
VL - 37
SP - 662
EP - 673
JO - Journal of Interprofessional Care
JF - Journal of Interprofessional Care
IS - 4
ER -