PHVIT9600 Forskning og kunnskapsbehov for å fremme gode livsløp i kommunene Emneplan

Background

This PhD course is the introductory course for the national, interdisciplinary research school, Partners-in-Care, funded by the Norwegian research Council (NRC).

Introduction

The overall aim of the Partners-in-Care research school is to enhance the quality of diverse services that promote health and wellbeing across the lifespan within municipalities. The school seeks to build research capacity, foster a research-oriented culture, and generate sound scientific knowledge for the Norwegian municipality sector.

The Norwegian municipalities vary significantly in size, demographics, and economic and social structures. Nevertheless, they share the same responsibility for providing the necessary conditions and services for their inhabitants to live healthy and good lives across the life span. The municipal health and care services represent the largest health care sector within Norwegian healthcare system, serving approximately 400.000 recipients annually. These services range from health-promoting services for newborns, young children, and teenagers, day-to-day complex services for frail older adults and people with long-term conditions. However, health and wellbeing are not solely the responsibility of health and care services. Other sectors, such as child care, schools, voluntary organizations, and various other actors, also play a crucial role in promoting the health and wellbeing of the population.

The Partners-in-Care research school builds on the experiences of its predecessor, the Muni-Health-Care research school, which operated from 2016 to 2023. Muni-Health-Care addressed the need for more research in this field by developing relevant, state-of-the-art knowledge, that reflected the significant variability and local needs of Norwegian municipalities. Partners-in-Care aims to further increase research capacity and foster a research-oriented culture by offering high quality doctoral education to a new generation of researchers. Additionally, it seeks to establish research networks to advance this field of research and promote the implementation of research findings into services provided in municipalities.

Research and knowledge needs to promote good life courses in the municipalities

This introductory course is designed for PhD-students whose research focuses on promoting health and wellbeing across the lifespan within the context of municipal settings. The course is interdisciplinary and aims to address unique challenges associated with conducting research in these sectors.

Developed and delivered in partnership between academic and municipal partners of the research school, the course emphasizes the knowledge needs and key issues involved in researching diverse municipal services. It explores various theoretical perspectives and research methods, highlighting organizational frameworks and structures that impact health, wellbeing, needs, and services. Key topics include user involvement in research, knowledge translation, and implementation. Lectures address significant research topics and the challenges associated with them.

The course is conducted as a three-day intensive, in-person session, followed by four follow-up webinars over the next two semesters. The webinars focus on participants’ individual projects, connecting them to the broader theoretical and methodological topics covered in the course.

Learning outcomes:

Upon completing the course, the PhD candidate has achieved the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The PhD candidate has knowledge of

• Key research and knowledge needs for promoting health and wellbeing across the lifespan and developing sustainable services
• Significant political, legal, financial, and organizational aspects related to municipal health and care services, as well as other sectors that influence health and wellbeing across the lifespan
• Relevant theoretical and methodological perspectives for conducting research in municipal services
• Key challenges and opportunities associated with research in this context

Skills

The PhD candidate is able to

• Discuss key knowledge needs and research issues related to promoting health and wellbeing across the lifespan
• Analyze and discuss key characteristics and challenges of municipal health and care services, as well as other relevant services aimed at promoting health and wellbeing across the lifespan
• Address and discuss methodological issues related to conducting research within the municipal sector
• Present and justify the need for research on various aspects of the municipal services relevant to health and wellbeing

Competences

The PhD candidate is able to

• Reflect on and discuss topics related to the development of municipal services and initiatives aimed at promoting health and wellbeing
• Reflect on and discuss user involvement in research, as well as the translation and implementation of knowledge and services within municipalities
• Critically assess the need for research in the municipal health care sector and related services
• Analyze and discuss specific research studies in relation to relevant theoretical and methodological perspectives

The course employs a combination of lectures, self-study, group work, webinars, and plenary discussions. Participants are expected to demonstrate a high level of activity and engagement throughout the course.

Participants are required to submit an abstract of their research study prior to the start of the course. During the course, each participant gives an oral presentation of their research study, and the participants provide constructive feedback ("opposition") to their peers’ presentations. Before each webinar, participants must submit a written note. This note should discuss theoretical and methodological aspects of their own study, drawing on the course literature.

Participation in the webinars must be approved.

The final assessment consists of an individual home examination, in which the participants submit a brief final reflection paper based on previous learning activities throughout the course. The paper is expected to critically discuss an issue related to their own research study, incorporating insights from the course literature, presentations, and discussions. The essay must not exceed 1500 words.

All

Pass/Fail

All participants’ submissions and presentations are evaluated by one examiner.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum for every third ordinary examination. If selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 10 answers. The external examiner’s assessment shall form the basis for the assessment of the remaining answers.

Target group and admission

This course is aimed at PhD participants admitted to the national research school Partners-in-Care, conducting research aimed at promoting health and wellbeing across the lifespan with in municipal settings. The course is also open to Nordic and international PhD participants. Participants must have a research project of clear relevance to the municipal or community-based services, including the voluntary sector. Participants must be enrolled in a relevant phd-program. Participants must be proficient in Norwegian or other Nordic languages. Priority will be given to PhD-students admitted to a PhD-program at the partner institutions of the Partners-in-Care research school.