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Case Reports
. 2023 Aug 18;23(3):11.
doi: 10.5334/ijic.7529. eCollection 2023 Jul-Sep.

Collaboration between Public Health and Schools: An Example of an Integrated Community Social Care Model

Audrée Jeanne Beaudoin  1   2 , Marilyn Gagnon  1 , Mathieu Roy  1   2 , Irma Clapperton  1   2   3 , Annie Lambert  1   4 , Emmanuelle Jasmin  1   2 , Edwige Ducreux  1   5 , Annie Desrosiers  3 , Claudine Martin  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Collaboration between Public Health and Schools: An Example of an Integrated Community Social Care Model

Audrée Jeanne Beaudoin et al. Int J Integr Care. .

Abstract
in English, French

Introduction: There is a need to improve public health interventions to promote youth social and emotional development in close collaboration with schools, families and local communities. A close intersectoral collaboration between the regional public health, schools and school boards was established to co-construct and implement "Positive Intervention (PI)" in the Eastern Townships region (Quebec, Canada). This paper describes its implementation according to the "Integrated Community Care (ICC)" framework.

Description: PI is a collaborative and personalized intervention leaning toward an integrated community social care model. In fact, PI relies on the close proximity between Public Health and their educational counterpart as well as their individual temporality. However, PI offered mainly social services and its relationships with Primary Care services was not yet a priority.

Discussion: The results show that it is possible to develop and implement an intervention promoting positive mental health in children, with and for local organisations. The level of integration between schools and Public Health services achieved after only 6 months of implementation is encouraging.

Conclusion: More research is needed to thoroughly document the implementation, social validity, and effects of such an intervention by taking in the point of view of all stakeholders.

Introduction: Il est nécessaire d’améliorer les interventions de santé publique pour promouvoir le développement social et émotionnel des jeunes en étroite collaboration avec les écoles, les familles et les communautés locales. Une telle collaboration intersectorielle entre la santé publique régionale, les écoles et les commissions scolaires a été mise en place pour coconstruire et mettre en œuvre l’Intervention positive (IP) en Estrie (Québec, Canada). Cet article décrit sa mise en œuvre initiale selon le cadre conceptuel des soins de santé et services sociaux intégrés en proximité des communautés.

Description: L’IP est une intervention collaborative et personnalisée qui s’inscrit dans un modèle de services sociaux intégrés en proximité des communautés. En fait, l’IP s’appuie sur une forte proximité entre les services de santé publique et les milieux scolaires, ainsi qu’un ajustement à la temporalité des partenaires. Cependant, l’IP offre principalement des services sociaux et ses relations avec les services de soins primaires n’étaient pas encore une priorité.

Discussion: Les résultats montrent qu’il est possible de développer et de mettre en œuvre une intervention de promotion de la santé mentale positive chez les enfants, avec et pour les organisations locales. Le niveau d’intégration entre les écoles et les services de santé publique atteint après seulement six mois de mise en œuvre est encourageant.

Conclusion: Des recherches supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour documenter de manière approfondie la mise en œuvre, la validité sociale et les effets d’une telle intervention en prenant en compte le point de vue de toutes les parties prenantes.

Keywords: case study; health promotion; intersectorality; mental health; proximity.

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Conflict of interest statement

No author benefit financially or non-financially from the study. However, three authors (I.C., A.D. and C.M.) currently work in Public Health and have some form of connection to the Positive Intervention.

Figures

Logical model of the Positive Intervention
Figure 1
Logical model of the Positive Intervention.
Visual representation of Positive Intervention according to the Integrated Community Care framework
Figure 2
Visual representation of Positive Intervention based on the six components of ICC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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