Partnering for Change Implementation Project 2013-2015

From 2013-15, the Partnering for Change (P4C) team studied the evaluation and implementation of the P4C intervention in 40 schools within three different school boards and two different health care regions within Ontario. As in previous studies, participatory action research remained the foundation from which we approached working with community partners. In particular, we adopted an approach called integrated knowledge translation or IKT, which is a process that enhances research uptake by guiding researchers and knowledge-users to work together throughout the research cycle to ensure that the questions, methods, and findings are highly relevant to the health system.

The results were positive in all areas. Goals were achieved, and the occupational therapy service was delivered in a way that identified children who were struggling earlier. The P4C service also reached many, many more children, built educator and occupational therapist capacity, and cleared waitlists at the schools receiving the P4C service. Click here to read the project report.

Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. $994,600, 2013-2015. Implementation and evaluation of Partnering for Change, an innovative model that will transform health service provision for school-aged children with developmental coordination disorder. Missiuna, C. (PI), Pollock, N.Bennett, S.Camden, C.Campbell, W.McCauley, D.Gaines, R., & Cairney, J.

Ontario Ministry of Education, $199,810. 2015. Partnering for Change: An innovative service with relevance to the Special Needs Strategy. Missiuna, C. (PI), Hecimovich, C. (Principal Knowledge User), Bennett, S.Campbell, W.Pollock, N.Camden, C.Gaines, R.McCauley, D., & Cairney, J.

P4C Implementation Project Team


Sharing our Findings

Cahill, P. T., Missiuna, C. A., DeCola, C., Dix, L., & Campbell, W. N. (2023). Structural validity and internal consistency of an outcome measure to assess educator capacity to support children with motor difficulties. Frontiers in Education, 8. Doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1174097

Kennedy, J. N., Missiuna, C. A., Pollock, N. A., Sahagian Whalen, S., Dix, L., & Campbell, W. N. (2019). Making connections between school and home: exploring therapists’ perceptions of their relationships with families in partnering for change. British Journal of Occupational Therapy. 83(2), 98-106. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022619876560

Missiuna, C., Pollock, N., Campbell, W., DeCola, C., Hecimovich, C., Sahagian Whalen, S., …Camden, C. (2017). Using an innovative model of service delivery to identify children who are struggling in schoolBritish Journal of Occupational Therapy, 80(3), 145-154. doi: 10.1177/0308022616679852

Pollock, N., Dix, L., Sahagian Whalen, S., Campbell, W., & Missiuna, C. (2017). Supporting occupational therapists implementing a capacity-building model in schools. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy. 84(4-5) 242-252. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0008417417709483

Campbell, W., Camden, C. & Missiuna, C. (2016). Reflections on using a community-based and multisystem approach to transforming school-based intervention for children with developmental motor disorders. Current Developmental Disorders Reports. Advanced online publication 29, March, 2016. DOI 10.1007/s40474-016-0081-y.  

Campbell, W., Kennedy, J., Pollock, N., & Missiuna, C. (2016)  Screening children through Response to Intervention and Dynamic Performance Analysis: The Example of Partnering for Change. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 3, 200-205. doi:10.1007/s40474-016-0094-6 

Missiuna, C., Hecimovich, C., Dix, L., Campbell, W., Pollock, N., Bennett, S., Camden, C., DeCola, C., McCauley, D Gaines, R., Cairney, J., & Stewart D. (2015). Partnering for Change: Implementation and Evaluation Final Report, 2013 – 2015:  Final Report for the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care and the Ontario Ministry of Education. Hamilton, ON: CanChild, McMaster University. https://www.partneringforchange.ca/

Hamilton Spectator

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